Asalam Alaykum, i have been a new Muslim for 8 years. I got engaged with a young lady who is also Muslim but when she broke off the engagement my iman became weak. I am so ashamed to admit this, but i turned to a non-muslim woman for comfort and unlawful relations took place. I don't know if she is pregnant or not. Then i received a call and i was given a second chance with the engagement to the same Muslim lady which made me happy, but now my conscience is bothering me and i have lost sleep over this. If the girl who i commited zina with turns out to be pregnant, can i still marry the woman that i am engaged to and should i tell her what happened if the other woman is with child? I love my fiancee very much and i don't want to lose her, and i am very sorry for my terrible sin. I have begged Allah's forgiveness and i want to marry my fiancee but i have lost sleep over this. What should i do? Please help me, i love my fiancee very much. Allah forgive me. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you.

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 is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we thank and praise Allaah Who guided you to Islam and we ask Him to make you firm and steadfast on His Religion until the Day you meet Him.

It is good that you repented from committing Zina (fornication or adultery) as it is a grave major sin; for more benefit on the conditions of repentance, please refer to Fataawa 86527 and 87903.

Firstly, you should avoid any means that could lead you to commit Zina again, like being lenient regarding looking at non-Mahram women, being in seclusion with them and the like. Secondly, you should conceal your sin and you should not reveal this to anyone else at all. Even if we presume that you were asked as to whether or not you had committed Zina, then you should not tell the truth and you may use Tawriyah (saying something which has more than one meaning and intending a meaning different from what the listener is likely to understand), like denying that you had committed Zina (in the past) while intending that you did not do so after you had repented. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 83573 and 84052.

Besides, it is permissible for you to marry your fiancée but you are not allowed in any case to tell her that you had committed Zina, as we previously mentioned.

As regards the other woman, you should not worry about her even if she became pregnant from Zina. If she gives birth to a child, he will not be traced back to you and you have no relation with him, because he should be traced back to his mother and it is her who is obliged to nurture him and spend on him as we previously clarified in Fatwa 84788.

If we presume that the marriage with your fiancée is concluded, then praise be to Allaah, but if this does not happen, then you should not think about her and you should not despair if you do not marry her as it might not be good for you to marry her. Allaah Says (what means): {… and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allaah knows but you do not know.}[Quran 2:216]

In which case, you should look for another woman as there are so many women. However, we advise you to marry a religious woman who has a good moral conduct as the Prophet said: "…Choose the religious one, you will prosper." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Moreover, you should perform the Istikhaarah prayer as it is a way of facilitating things. For more benefit on how to perform the Istikhaarah prayer, please refer to Fatwa 81434.

Allaah Knows best.