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If somebody changes his religion to Christianity , What should his wife do?

Q:

Assalamualaikum

If a person  changes his religion to  Christianity  just on  papers or if he  really  changed his religion , how would this affect  his marriage  because his wife is Muslim??

And what  should she do?

A:

Wa Alaikum al-salam

thanks for your question

If he changed his religion just on paper (because legal issues happens for him or his family if he states his real religion i.e. Islam) and he true believes in Islam, there is no problem in doing so; but if really changed his religion from Islam, he is an apostate. The ruling of apostasy is:

A Muslim who leaves the religion of Islam and chooses to be a disbeliever is called an ‘apostate’ (murtadd). There are two types of apostates:

 

  1. ‘fiṭrī’: this is someone whose father and mother, or one of them, were Muslim when he was born, and after he was able to discern between right and wrong (tamyīz) he remained a Muslim, and after that he became a disbeliever. According to Ayatollah Sistani If after marriage a man becomes a fiṭrī apostate, his wife becomes unlawful for him. If they have had sexual intercourse and she is neither postmenopausal nor a minor, she must observe the ʿiddah of a widow. In fact, based on obligatory precaution, if they have not had sexual intercourse or she is either postmenopausal or a minor, she must still observe the ʿiddah of a widow. And if the man repents within the ʿiddah period, then based on obligatory precaution, if the couple wish to live together they must contract a marriage again, and if they wish to separate they must get a divorce.
  2. ‘millī’: this is someone who is the opposite [of a fiṭrī apostate; i.e. it refers to someone whose father and mother, or one of them, were disbelievers when he was born, and after he was able to discern between right and wrong he became a Muslim, and after that he became a disbeliever]. If after the conclusion of a marriage contract a man becomes a millī apostate, in the event that he has not had sexual intercourse with his wife or his wife is postmenopausal or a minor, the marriage contract becomes void and the woman does not have to observe ʿiddah. And if he becomes apostate after sexual intercourse and his wife is the age of women who experience ḥayḍ, the woman must observe the ʿiddah of a divorce. Furthermore, if the man reverts to Islam before the completion of the ʿiddah, the marriage contract remains as it is.

 regards

Sheikh Mahdi Mosayyebi