After the Nikah and the Birth of a Child the Husband Said: “I Am a Christian”

Question

Question: A man who was inwardly a Christian but outwardly presented himself as a Muslim married (nikah) a Muslim girl. After a period of about eleven or twelve months, when a son had also been born to him, this man, the aforementioned husband, now calls himself a Christian and says that the religion of Islam is false. (1) Has this nikah become invalid (fasid) according to the Shari‘a or not? (2) To whom should this boy now go — the father or the mother? (3) Can this girl take the mahr or not?

Answer

(1) In the case asked about, the nikah has been annulled (faskh); after completing her ‘idda the woman may marry (nikah) elsewhere. [ar]وارتداد أحدهما أي الزوجين فسخ فلا ينقص عدد، عاجل بلا قضاء، أي بلا توقف على قضاء القاضي[/ar] “The apostasy of either of them, that is, of either spouse, is an annulment (faskh)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.