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Fatwa CenterHusband may forgive his adulterous wife who repented
Question
Assalamalaikum, Brother, my friend is working in abroad, he is away from his wife for 1 year. His wife made affair with one of his relative for few months, they came into illegal sex and now she got pregnant, she told her husband, she was asking for khula but afterward she repent and she told her husband that she closed that all things and don't want khula and want to give a change to our marriage life, but she cannot abort the child because its sin to abort, she made mistake she accept. So my friend want to forgive her, he told her that cut all relation and contact to that men, so she told his husband that she closed everything. he also love is wife very much. So my question is, my friend want to forgive her and give her chance and he should accept that child and give his name. or he should give khula. please tell us so he can decide. Jazakallah khair
Answer
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.
This wife has committed a great evil by committing Zina (adultery), especially since she has a husband. Therefore, she is obliged to sincerely repent to Allaah fulfilling the conditions of a sincere repentance which are mentioned in Fatwa 86527.
As regards the fetus, in principle it should be traced back to the husband as he is the owner of the bed unless he denies it with Li’aan. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 88138.
However, it should be noted that if the husband is certain that his wife has committed Zina and is certain that her pregnancy is not from him, then he is obliged to take the initiative to deny it (the fetus) by Li’aan. The Prophet, 
said: "Any woman who brings to her family one who does not belong to it has nothing to do with Allaah ...” [Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah]
Even though the Hadeeth is said about the wife, the husband is also like her in this regard; there is no difference between them.
With regard to aborting the fetus, it is not permissible after the soul has been breathed into it as this is killing a soul which Allaah has forbidden to kill, except with right, as clarified in Fataawa 85930 and 83891.
Indeed, what happened is the best evidence for the seriousness of being lenient about non-Mahram men entering upon non-Mahram women and them being in seclusion with each other, especially the in-laws who might be trusted while they are untrustworthy; so fearing them is more than fearing others. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 177459.
In any case, if this woman repents and becomes righteous [and her husband opts not to deny the fetus by Li’aan], then her husband may keep her and have a good marital relationship with her; indeed, whoever sincerely repents, Allaah accepts his repentance.
Moreover, he should endeavor to do everything that would protect her from committing Zina again, among which is that he should try to keep her with him wherever he resides, and he should not be absent from her for a long period of time; rather, he is not permitted to be absent from her more than six months without her permission. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 90778.
Allaah Knows best.
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