we must conduct the marriage according to our law. But if they bring it before us after the contract, we examine the matter: if the woman is lawful for him at that time, we uphold their marriage; but if she is not lawful for him, we separate them. The evidence for all this is that disbelievers embraced Islam during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he allowed those whose wives were with them to remain in the marriages they had contracted in the Age of Ignorance, without intervening in them. This shows that such marriages remain as they originally were.
“If a non-Muslim at war has intercourse with a non-Muslim woman at war, then they embrace Islam and had regarded it as a marriage, their union is upheld; otherwise, it is annulled. Whenever the bridal gift is valid, she receives it. If it is invalid but she has taken possession of it, it remains hers. If she has not taken possession of it and no bridal gift was stipulated, she is assigned the customary bridal gift.”
His statement, “If a non-Muslim at war has intercourse with a non-Muslim woman at war, then they embrace Islam and had regarded it as a marriage, their union is upheld; otherwise, it is annulled.”
His statement, “a non-Muslim at war [and] a non-Muslim woman at war”: this qualification is not a condition. What is meant is either non-Muslims at war or protected non-Muslims who regarded this intercourse as constituting a marriage contract. Their union is upheld, provided that the woman is lawful for him at the time of their embracing Islam. In the preceding discussion, the Bedouins used to contract marriages resembling this arrangement. Such people are not permitted to remain upon this arrangement, because they are Muslims; and once they are Muslims, the contract must conform to Islamic law. The matter is straightforward: we say, “We shall now conduct the marriage contract between you.”
His statement, “Whenever the bridal gift is valid, she receives it”: that is, if the bridal gift consisted of dirhams, and they embrace Islam while remaining in a previous marriage that is invalid according to Islamic law but is nevertheless upheld for them, the wife receives the bridal gift.
For example, a man married a woman for ten thousand riyals without a guardian or witnesses, and then they both embraced Islam. We uphold their marriage, and she receives the bridal gift, because we have said that the marriages of disbelievers, like the marriages of Muslims, entail entitlement to the bridal gift. Thus, if it is valid, she receives it.