Revert Wife Unsure of her Acceptance of Islam Before Marriage

30-10-2025 | IslamWeb

Question:

My wife took shahada during our nikah 1.5 years ago but recently told me she did it out of fear, love, and wanting to please me. She now says she’s unsure if she ever truly believed, though she respects Islam, is not hostile, and is willing to raise our children Muslim. She hasn’t denied Islam but says she doesn’t know. She’s emotionally struggling due to past trauma from a harsh Christian upbringing. Is our marriage still valid? Is there a grace period or fatwa to stay married while she’s uncer

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If she had pronounced the Shahadah (testimony of faith) before the marriage contract and adhered to the apparent rituals of Islam, then she is considered a Muslim, which means that you married her while she was a Muslim. Similarly, if your marriage has fulfilled the conditions for validity, namely a guardian and witnesses, then the marriage is valid.

However, her statement after marriage that she was not sure whether she had truly converted to Islam requires investigation to know whether this might result in her apostasy or not, and we cannot be certain of any of that without knowing the context and circumstances of this statement, especially with what was mentioned about her being psychologically traumatized. Hence, we recommend that you ask any of the Islamic centers so that they can look into the matter and find out exactly what happened.

Finally, she should be taught the teachings of Islam, particularly the meaning of the Shahadah (testimony of faith), which emphasises monotheism (the oneness of Allah and His sole right to be worshipped) and following the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

Allah knows best.