{"fatawa":{"id":10263,"title":"Should she refuse marriage to someone who has a bad past?","slug":"should-she-refuse-marriage-to-someone-who-has-a-bad-past","order":"","question":"<p>I am a moderate muslim, I practise my faith to the best of my ability,  which means no drink, smoke, drug, clubbing, freely socialising with the  opposite sex... I am a stage my parents want me to get married. But I  am finding it difficult to say yes to anyone of the proposals because  they have all had some kind of relationship or been clubbing etc in the  past..... <br \/> Most people say they have changed and so forth, but i tend to think, these actions have ramifications in the future.....<\/p>","answer":"<div class=\"list-group-item-text ftwa-single-answer font-nrmal\"><span class=\"line_height\"> Praise be to Allaah.        &nbsp;\r\n<p>Islam is all moderation. Adherence to the      teachings of Islam, doing the obligatory duties and avoiding the  things that are forbidden are not optional for the Muslim, because these  are      things that Allaah has enjoined upon him. There is so much confusion  nowadays that a person who avoids some haraam things and does some  obligatory      duties is regarded as being over-strict and stubborn. Undoubtedly  this is because the people have deviated from correct understanding of  Islam and      because they indukge so much in sin and neglect the obligatory  duties prescribed in sharee&rsquo;ah.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>We appreciate your keenness to adhere to the      teachings of Islam in a society such as the one in which you are  living. You should note that what you are doing is an action that is  beloved by      Allaah and by His believing friends, and that it is something which  is hated by the devils among mankind and the jinn.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Your keenness to find a righteous husband is      in accordance with teachings of Islam on choosing and marrying a  spouse, but you should not reject a person who is known for his good  character      and religious commitment because of his past. If a person has  repented, his past should not be a source of shame and he should not be  rejected if      he comes seeking marriage. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of  Allaah be upon him) said: &ldquo;The one who repents from sin is like one who  did      not sin at all.&rdquo; Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and classed as hasan by  al-Albaani. But if he has a past record of sin and it is not known  whether he had      given it up, in such a case you cannot be sure of his morals or  religious commitment, so he cannot be accepted as a marriage partner.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>It is not enough for a person to tell his      fianc&eacute;e or her guardians that he has changed and has given up the  bad and immoral things that he used to do; his word cannot be accepted  and      believed until there is the certainty that he is telling the truth  or that he has definitely given up those bad things.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Strive to choose a righteous man even if he      has a past and do not reject him. Reject everyone who is known to  have a bad past and has not given it up, because the Prophet  (peace and       blessings of Allaah be upon him) told men: &ldquo;A woman may be married  for four things: her wealth, her lineage, her beauty, or her religious      commitment. Choose the one who is religiously-committed, may your  hands be rubbed with dust (i.e., may you prosper).&rdquo; (Narrated by  al-Bukhaari,      5090; Muslim, 1466).&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>This applies also to women, i.e., a woman      should not accept anyone but a man who is religiously committed and  of good character. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon      him) said: &ldquo;If there comes to you to marry (your daughter) one who  with whose religious commitment and character you are pleased, then  marry (your      daughter) to him, for if you do not do that, there will be fitnah  (tribulation) in the land and widespread corruption.&rdquo; Narrated by  al-Tirmidhi,      1084; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in <em>Saheeh al-Tirmidhi<\/em>, 866.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>It says in <em>Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi<\/em>: The      phrase &ldquo;if there comes to you to marry (your daughter)&rdquo; means if he  comes to ask to marry a woman from among your children or relatives.  &ldquo;One with      (whom) &hellip; you are pleased&rdquo; means you think well of him, and are  pleased with his religious commitment. &ldquo;His character&rdquo; means his  attitude and how      he deals and interacts with others. &ldquo;Then marry (your daughter) to  him, for if you do not do that&rdquo; means, if you do not marry (your  daughter) to      one with whose religious commitment and character you are pleased,  and you are only concerned with lineage, beauty and wealth, &ldquo;there will  be      fitnah (tribulation) in the land and widespread corruption&rdquo; i.e.,  great corruption, because if you will only marry her to someone who is  wealthy      or of high status, most of your womenfolk may remain without  husbands, and most of your men will remain without wives, so there will  be a lot of      temptation to commit zina, and perhaps the guardians may feel that  their honour has been violated (because of zina), so there will be a lot  of      tribulation and corruption, which will result in illegitimacy and a  lack of righteousness and chastity.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Some of the Sahaabah were mushriks, then they entered Islam and  became good Muslims, and they got married, and were not rejected because  of what they had done in the past.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>What matters is what a man is adhering to now, so long as he has repented from whatever he has done in the past.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>We ask Allaah to make it easy for you to find a righteous husband and have righteous children.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds.<\/p>\r\n<\/span><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"padding: 3px; padding-right: 6px; text-align: right;\">Islam Q&amp;A<\/div>","status":1,"created_at":"2015-03-16T20:51:58.000000Z","updated_at":"2015-03-16T20:51:58.000000Z","language_id":1,"fatawacate_id":39,"parent_id":10262,"author_id":"","books":[],"articles":[],"videos":[],"audios":[],"author_name":"","category_name":"\u0627\u0644\u062e\u0637\u0628\u0629","category_slug":"","get_date":"2015-03-16"},"translations":[],"fatawa_books":[],"fatawa_articles":[],"fatawa_videos":[],"fatawa_audios":[],"url":"http:\/\/islamland.com\/eng\/api\/fatawas\/10263"}