the marriage is dissolved.

Ibn al-Mundhir said, “All the scholars whose opinions have reached us are unanimously agreed on this.”

If, however, one of two non-scriptural spouses embraces Islam after consummation has taken place, the matter is held in abeyance until the wife’s waiting period (ʿidda) ends. Should the second spouse accept Islam before that time is over, the marriage remains in force.

Our more persuasive view is that separation occurs the moment the first spouse becomes Muslim; therefore no marital bond subsists thereafter. This is the opinion of the majority of jurists and the well-known position in the school of Aḥmad.

Their principal proof is the report of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb in which the Prophet ﷺ “returned his daughter to Abū al-ʿĀṣ with a new marriage contract.” This narration is the cornerstone for the majority.

A second report from Imām Aḥmad, nonetheless, maintains that she may return to him without a fresh contract—no matter how long the interval or even after the ʿidda has expired—provided she has not married anyone else. The basis is the tradition from Ibn ʿAbbās that “the Prophet ﷺ restored his daughter to Abū al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ six years later on the strength of the original marriage, without initiating a new contract.” Al-Tirmidhī said, “There is nothing amiss in its chain,” and Aḥmad declared it sound.

Hadith (875) also supports this alternative view of Aḥmad. In that incident the woman had married another man after her first husband had accepted Islam, and his earlier conversion was deemed sufficient to preserve their original marriage; hence her second marriage was void. Consequently, the Prophet ﷺ removed her from the second husband, did not require him to pronounce a divorce, and returned her to her first husband without renewing the marriage contract. Although the isnād of Ibn ʿAbbās is stronger, legal practice follows the hadith of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb.

Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn (Ibn Taymiyyah) chose the opinion that the marriage remains intact when the wife embraces Islam before her husband, whether the conversion occurs before or after consummation, as long as she has not married another man.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “If one spouse becomes Muslim before the other, the marriage is not annulled by that conversion, whether or not migration (hijrah) later separates them. There is no report that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever renewed the contract of any couple in which one had preceded the other in Islam. The Companions experienced numerous cases where a man accepted Islam before his wife or a wife before her husband, and there is absolutely no evidence that any of them ever…”