I am a convert to Islam for 8 yrs now. I had meet a muslim brother. He asked me to marry me and I had said yes. I asked him what we would do to get a Islamic marriage and he replied that we only needed the islamic community to know about that we are together. So we exchanged promises with each other alone that we would stay together forever. So I believed him and we did intercourse. We lived for sometime and he left. Now I had a islamic marriage to another man. It was in the masjid with two witnesses and Wali and he was the Imam. Now i found out that the first man was lying to me. Was the first one the way we promised each other Islamic marriage? Am I sinful because i did intercourse with him because, I thought i was Islamic married?

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.

First of all, we congratulate you on the grace of embracing Islam, and this is a great blessing by which one wins happiness in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. We advise you to seek beneficial knowledge, to be keen on performing good deeds and to keep company with righteous women so that they would help you in your religion and in your worldly matters.

Marriage in Islam has conditions that must be fulfilled for it to be valid; these are explained in Fatwa 83629. What that man did was not a marriage but an invitation to Zina (fornication). It was a kind of trick from him in order to get what he desired. This is indeed what some weak people and human wolves do. So, a Muslim woman should beware of such people.

We hope that you are not sinful if you agreed out of ignorance, as mistakes are forgiven; Allaah says (what means): {And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended. And ever is Allaah Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran 33:5]

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 86396.

Allaah Knows best.