Marriages of the Mughal Emperors to Non-Muslim Women

Question

The Mughal emperors married Hindu women; were the children born of them legitimate or illegitimate?

Answer

The outward state of a Muslim is that he cannot marry any Hindu girl until she accepts Islam; marrying her without her accepting Islam is haram: [ar]وَلَا تَنكِحُوا۟ ٱلْمُشْرِكَـٰتِ[/ar] “Do not marry polytheist women…” (Surah al-Baqara, 2:221). Now, this question, posed in this manner, is out of place.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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