I am a married Muslim living in Doha with my wife and two kids. I have a long time desire to take a second wife in marriage even though my wife is totally against it.
Recently I met a Christian lady from Philippines who has accepted my proposal to marry she is willing to convert to Islam if she is convinced. But I would like to give some details about her. She is single but has a eight year-old son out of her relationship with her boy friend in Philippines. She has come to work in Doha only three months back. Now can you please tell me in the light of Quran and Sunnah is it appropriate for me to marry this lady and take care of her along with her son? Please note that I would try my best after marrying her Inshaa' Allaah, to convince her to convert to Islam.

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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

In general it is permissible for a husband to marry more than one wife if he is able to be just between them. Allaah Says (which means): {then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one…}[Quran 4:3]. Nonetheless, it is not a condition for the husband to seek the consent of his first wife in order to marry a second wife. However, he should reach an agreement with her before marrying a second wife as this prepares her to be affectionate with the second wife and not have any problems with her after marriage.

It is permissible for a Muslim to marry a woman from the People of the Book, either a Christian or a Jew, provided she is chaste. But if she is an adulterous, it is not permissible for a Muslim to marry her. Allaah Says (which means): {Lawful to you in marriage are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the scripture (Jews and Christians) before you…}[Quran 5:5]. The women of the People of the Book are very unlikely to achieve this condition nowadays. So, we advise you to refrain from marrying this woman especially that you mentioned that she had a child from fornication.

As regards calling her to Islam, you should leave the matter for the organizations that are specialized in calling people to Islam to do the task. If she is really sincere in embracing Islam, Allaah may enable her to do so.

Allaah Knows best.