Converting to Islam for a Woman

This is an answer to the same question that I found at Islam-online.net from the ask a scholar there..you can see that opinions differ:

`alykum As-Salamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, we are greatly impressed by your question for it�s related to the affairs of new Muslims. We seize this chance to earnestly implore Allah from the depths of our hearts to lead all perplexed men and women to the light of Islam, the true religion of Allah. We welcome all our new Muslim brothers and sisters to the fold of Islam.

As regards your question, we�d like to cite the following comprehensive Fatwa issued by the European Council for Fatwa and Research, headed by the prominent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi:

�Addressing the situation at hand, the Council has considered the numerous papers and studies submitted for its attention over three consecutive sessions, and which carried a variety of perspectives and opinions, all dealing with this problem in detail and length, observing the objectives of Shari`ah and relating those to principles of Fiqh. The Council also recognizes and acknowledges the conditions in which new Muslim sisters in the West find themselves when their husbands choose to remain on their religion. The Council affirms and repeats that it is forbidden for a Muslim female to establish marriage to a non-Muslim male. This has been an issue of consensus throughout the history of this nation. However, in the case of marriage being established prior to the female entering the fold of Islam, the Council has decided the following:

First: If both husband and wife revert to Islam and there is no Shari`ah objection to their marriage in the first place, such as blood or foster relations, which deem the very establishment of marriage unlawful, the marriage shall be deemed valid and correct.

Second: Assuming that the marriage is properly contracted in the beginning, if the husband reverts to Islam alone, while his wife remains a Jew or a Christian, then the marriage shall maintain its validity, i.e. it will not be affected by the husband�s conversion to Islam.

Third: If the wife reverts to Islam while her husband remains on his religion, the Council sees the following:

1) If her reversion to Islam occurs before the consummation of marriage, then they must immediately separate.

2) If her reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the husband also embraced Islam before the expiry of her period of waiting (`Iddah), then the marriage is deemed valid and correct.

3) If her reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the period of waiting expires, she is allowed to wait for him to embrace Islam even if that period happens to be a lengthy one. Once he does so and reverts to Islam, then their marriage is deemed valid and correct.

4) If the wife chooses to marry another man after the expiration of the period of waiting, she must first request a dissolution of marriage through legal channels.

Fourth: According to the four main schools of jurisprudence, it is forbidden for the wife to remain with her husband, or indeed to allow him conjugal rights, once her period of waiting has expired. However, some scholars see that it is for her to remain with him, allowing him to enjoy full conjugal rights, if he does not prevent her from exercising her religion and she has hope in him to revert to Islam. The reason for this is to consider the case of women who would find it difficult to embrace Islam with the condition of being separated from their husbands and deserting their families. Those scholars based their view upon the ruling of `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, in the case of the woman from Al-Heera who reverted to Islam while her husband remained on his religion. According to the authentic narration of Yazeed ibn `Abdullah Al-Khatmi, `Umar ibn Al-Khattab made it optional for the woman to leave her husband or to stay with him. They also cite, in supporting their view, the opinion of `Ali ibn Abi Talib concerning the Christian woman who embraced Islam while still married to a Christian or a Jew. Ali said that her husband�s conjugal right was still inalienable, as he had a contract. This is also an authentic narration. It is also known that Ibrahim Al-Nakha`i, Ash-Shi`bi and Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman had the same view.�

Allah Almighty knows best.

The face of interpretations are changing daily. Do not leave your husbands yet if you are a new muslimah. Many interpretations of the Quran are also influences by the local culture of the Shayk or scholar issuing the Fatwah, Non which I know of are western!

sister_m82 wrote: oh i missed this thread so have written my questoin some like this. to be honest i haven't read all texts but i think mine is some different. so please drop a line on my thread too. Rabba bless you

Hi sister,

May I inquire of what language is the word, "Rabba"?

Does it translate to god?