Assalamo Alaikom Warahmatullah. First I would like to thank you for your effort and your site Jazakum Allah Khayran. I belong – Wal Hamdu Lellah – to a wealthy Muslim family in Pakistan. I married my cousin 14 years ago, and we are both very committed Muslims WHLL. I have inherited from my father many lands in and out of my country (tea plantations) and a large fortune, but Allah - Subhanhu Wataala - did not grant us any child. My wife was very sad, and feels guilty because doctors have failed to cure her and said there is no hope. Not wanting to be the reason of my unhappiness, she first suggested that I marry a second woman, and then suggested another option: buying a slave. She considers that a wife would hurt her feelings and her image in front of our family; while a slave would be hidden in our plantation, a and I could visit her whenever I wanted. Not wanting to destroy her feelings, I accepted this option. And, while I was visiting one of my plantations in Sri Lanka 2 years ago, I saw a poor young woman who was living with her step father after her mother and father died. He was an evil man, always beating her, and trying to rape her. I once caught him trying to rape her after beating her hard. I assaulted him and beat him almost to death to save her from his evil hands and ordered him to leave the plantation after offering him a tempting amount of money in exchange for his step daughter. We took her to live in our farm in Pakistan, converted her from Buddhism to Islam and she is now WHLL a very committed Muslim. Last year we had intimate relations and she is now WHLL pregnant. I am considering marrying her because honestly I do not wish to have a child whose mother is a slave. My first priority is I MUST do what Allah and his prophet order and avoid their anger. On the other hand, my wife is a faithful Muslim and is the woman who stood by me for years, and I do not want to hurt her. Please help me with your kind advice, Jazakum Allah khayran’. Salaam. M. A.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

In Islam, the only lawful way to own a bondmaid, with whom sexual intercourse is lawful, is through capture during a lawful war against the belligerent disbelievers (as a reciprocal practice of war)‎ as clarified in Fatwa 83687, or through buying a bondmaid from a person who owns her lawfully. However, most probably nowadays there exist no bondmaids who are owned in a lawful manner.

As for what you did with this girl, it is not considered a lawful way to own her and she is still free. Consequently, your sexual intercourse with her is certainly adultery and her child must not be traced back to you.

Subsequently, you must leave this girl because she is not your slave or wife. If you want to marry her, you must propose to her through her guardian in marriage and then marry her in a correct Islamic manner after she gives birth to her child. For further information about the conditions of the valid marriage, refer to Fatwa 83629.

Furthermore, you do not have to tell your first wife about your marriage, which is not considered unfair to her as long as you treat both of your wives fairly.

Allaah Knows best.