If a person wants to marry a non-Muslim lady who had been married formerly, should he wait 4 months and 10 days (Iddat time) before proposing her or marrying her?
Answer:
Dream
The interpretation of this dream depends on the condition of the person. If
he is straight and upright person, it is a Mubaarak (blessed) dream. If he
is not straight and upright, it could be that he is a liar.
Marriage
It is not permissible for a Muslim female to marry a non-Muslim male.
However, a Muslim male may marry only Christian or Jewish female. It is not
permissible for a Muslim male to marry any other non-Muslim female.
The reason it is permissible for the Muslim male to marry a non-Muslim
female is that he would be able to easily convince the Christian or Jewish
wife into accepting Islam. There is a possibility of the non-Muslim male
convincing his Muslim wife into abandoning Islam. Therefore, Islam has
considered her feminine nature and protected her correct beliefs from being
a victim of abuse from the male dominance.
The Muslim husband is not obliged to pressurise his Christian/Jewish wife to
accept Islam. He may apply wisdom and diplomacy and only influence her to
Islam. In Islam, a female is equally respected as a male, however, due to
the different masculine and feminine natures, Islam believes in separation
of roles. It is obvious that there are many things a male can do, which is
not easily possible for a female and vice versa.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.