A Girl Wants To Convert To Marry Me. How Should I Explain Islam To Her?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
I really like a non-Muslim girl. We’ve spoken and the feelings are shared but I told her I wouldn’t be able to be in a relationship with someone and marry them if they were non-Muslim. She told me she’d be willing to convert and I have decided to inform my mother.
I know she’ll accept it but I know that she may grow to be displeased with it if she thinks I’m straying from Islam by being with her. So I want to tell the girl the exact ruling on Islamic marriage and how she must convert before we are married. How can I explain that?
Answer
Thank you for your question. Congratulations on finding the girl you want to marry who is willing to convert. I am very pleased for you and I pray that it works out well for both of you and for your mother.
Please see this link about how to convert:
How Do I Enter Islam? I Want to Become Muslim.
Here are some beneficial answers on the converts and marriage:
What is the Best Approach to Take in Convert Marriage Issues?
Marrying a Convert Without Parental Approval
Please take this marriage course with her to learn your rights and obligations toward each other.
Please be sure to pray istikhara before you proceed with your decision. The Prophet advised to marry for religion and you want to be sure that you believe that this will be good for your Islam.
As a supportive Muslim husband, you should strive to teach her everything she needs to know about the religion, step by step, or direct her to where she can learn. She can take free courses at Seekers and learn her obligatory knowledge and how to read Qur’an. I also recommend that she convert about 6 months to a year before marrying you, as following a new religion can take a toll and one should ease into it.
May Allah bless your union and give you tawfiq.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied Aqidah, Fiqh, Tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied Fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
