Annulment of the Nikah Through the Wife’s Apostasy

Question

Question: A woman adopts the Christian religion and then becomes a Muslim again. Does her nikah with her former husband remain or not? Kindly write in detail: if, after adopting the Christian religion, she became a Muslim after however long a period, and after becoming a Muslim marries (nikah) someone other than her former husband, what is the ruling — will it be annulled, or will the nikah be valid?

Answer

In the case asked about there are several narrations (riwayat) of the Hanafis. The one on which the fatwa is given (mufta bihi) in this age is that the woman’s nikah has not been annulled by this act; rather, she remains in the nikah of her former husband as before, however much time may pass, and it is not permissible for her to marry (nikah) elsewhere.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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