The marriage of an adulteress who has repented

26-9-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can a woman who committed zina a long time ago and has since then made sincere repentance and transformed her life for the better marry a chaste muslim man? They are both compatible and willing to look past each others past mistakes but are wondering if this marriage would be valid.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

There is no blame on the adulteress to get married after she repents to Allah the Almighty, and it is a condition that, along with her repentance, her waiting period from adultery must end. Her waiting period is like the waiting period of a divorced woman. If her waiting period has ended with her repentance, it is permissible for her to marry the same repentant adulterer or another chaste man.

Ibn Qudaamah may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Al-Mughni: “If a woman commits adultery, it is not permissible for anyone who knows that to marry her except under two conditions: One of them is that her waiting period has ended... and the second condition is that she repents from adultery.”

The majority of scholars are of the opinion that the marriage of the adulterer and the adulteress is valid, even if they do not repent. With repentance, there is no disagreement about the validity of the marriage.

Allah knows best.

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