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Fatwa CenterWoman who converts to Islam cannot stay married to Non-Muslim
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. My husband and I bought a house with a mortgage twelve years ago. I became muslim five months ago. Initially, I did not know that the one who consumes interest is a sinner. I lost income last year and could not help my husband replace his damaged car. So we re-mortgaged and used the money to replace the car, pay off old debts, and to repair the house. I found out very recently that paying interest is also a major sin. How can I repent from that? If I take my name out of the house ownership, then my husband will own it all; will Allaah accept my repentance then? I would still be living in a house bought with interest, though, so would that still constitute a sin? The mortgage is my only debt; I paid off all other debts under my name. I want to sell the house and get out of interes, but my husband refuses. He is still a non-Muslim. How can I repent? Please, I need to know. And please also do mention Quran verses or hadiths about repentance in this matter.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
All praise be to Allaah for blessing you with Islam and guiding you to the straight path. Verily, this is the greatest blessing. We implore Him to bless you with steadfastness, guide you to whatever is best for you, and help you to thank this blessings as due. We also implore Him to bless your husband with guidance to the light of Islam.
We advise you to strive in inviting your husband to Islam and to seek the help of scholars in the Islamic centers or the like in this regard. If he refuses to embrace Islam and remains a non-Muslim, then you should know that your marriage to him has become invalid from the day that you embraced Islam. If he did not convert to Islam within your 'Iddah (waiting period after divorce), then it is impermissible for you to remain with him. Rather, you must leave him. Please, refer to fataawa 81220and 84265.
Repentance from taking an interest-based loan is done by quitting, regretting, and resolving never to commit that sin again in the future. It is not necessary for repentance to be valid that you sell the house or remove your name from its ownership. Rather, it is sufficient to repent to Allaah, and there is no harm in using the car and the house bought with an interest-based loan. The sin is related to the borrower’s liability, not to the loan itself or the property purchased with it. For more benefit, please 86527and 130992.
Allaah knows best.
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