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He fathered a daughter from his first marriage with a Hindu woman

Question

My friend married a hindu lady and had a daughter with her about 15 years back , he stayed with her for some years and divorced her and then married another muslim pious lady , he told the second wife that his parents had forced him into his first marriage which was a lie and that the marriage lasted only 2 months and lied that he did not have a daughter , he used to tell her that his sexual desire was much , so he wants to marry again , the second wife did not agree so he married another muslim woman hiding the fact that he was already married twice and showing his age 12 years younger than his actual age . Is anyone who helped him find his partner[wife] wrong in supporting him done wrong , a major grave sin according to allah swt ? Its been known that he ill treated his previous wives. He is very sweet with words and easily manipulates all people.

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 ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and messenger.

The marriage of that man to the Hindu woman is invalid because it is not permissible for a Muslim man to marry a non-Muslim woman except a woman who belongs to the People of the Book [i.e. a Christian or a Jew] according to the consensus of the Muslims. For more information, please refer to Fatwa 88531.

However, his daughter bears his name if he had believed that his marriage to her was valid. Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said: “The Muslims have agreed that if a Muslim consummates a marriage (has sexual intercourse) with his wife in any marriage which he believes to be valid, then his children bear his name, and they inherit from each other according to the agreement of all the Muslims, even though this marriage is invalid according to the consensus of the Muslims … the confirmation of family lineage does not require the validity of marriage; rather, the child belongs to the owner of the bed, as the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “The child belongs to the owner of the bed (legitimate husband) and the stone is for the adulterer." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

If that man lied to his second wife about not having married that other woman and not having a daughter with her, then he is sinful and he is obliged to repent. He is also obliged to repent for lying to his third wife. For more information on the conditions of repentance, please refer to Fatwa 86527.

Helping that man to marry a second or third wife does not entail sharing the sin of lying with him, unless one listened to him as he was lying and did not censure him.

On the other hand, if that man is a bad person, then whoever helps him in this marriage and does not clarify the truth about him to the family of his wife, is a deceiver who has not fulfilled the obligation of sincere advice. Verily, advice is an obligation that is due upon a Muslim for his Muslim brother, and he should not refrain from advising Muslims whenever this is possible.

An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said when interpreting the Hadeeth reported by Muslim: “Giving advice is necessary according to one’s ability if the person who gives advice knows that his advice will be accepted and is safe from what is harmful. In case he fears harm, then he is not required to do so.” [End of quote]

The obligation is even more emphasized if one’s advice is requested. Abu Hurayrah  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him reported that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “The rights of a Muslim to another Muslim brother are six." It was said: What are they, O Messenger of Allaah? He said: “If you meet him, you should greet him with Salaam, if he invites you, you should accept his invitation, if he asks you for advice, you should give him sincere advice, if he sneezes and praises Allaah, you should say to him: 'Yarhamuka Allaah (may Allaah have mercy upon you)', if he falls sick, you should visit him, and if he dies, you should attend his funeral.” [Muslim]

Daleel Al-Faaliheen li Turuq Riyaadh As-Saaliheen reads: “If he seeks your advice, i.e., if he requests you to advise him regarding what is likely to achieve an interest whether it is an action or word, then you should advise him and it is an obligation on you to say to him what is of interest to him. His request is not a condition for deeming giving him advice obligatory or recommended. It is obligatory in some cases and recommended in others, for whoever requests it or does not request it. However, giving advice when it is requested makes the obligation more emphasized.” [End of quote]

Al-Hasan Al-Basri  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said: “You will find a believer to be nothing other than a sincere adviser, and you never find him a cheater.” [End of quote]

Allaah Knows best.

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