Ruling 2461. It is obligatory for someone who falls into sin on account of not having a wife to get married.
Ruling 2462. If a husband stipulates a condition in the marriage contract that his wife must be a virgin but after concluding the marriage he realises that she is not a virgin, he can annul the marriage contract. However, if he does not annul it or he did not make such a stipulation in the marriage contract but married her on the belief that she was a virgin, he can take into account the percentage difference between the standard amount given for a dowry (mahr al‑mithl) of a virgin woman and that of a non-virgin woman and deduct that percentage difference from the dowry agreed by them; and if he has already given the dowry to her, he can take it back. For example, if her dowry is £1,000 and the dowry of a woman like her, if she is a virgin, is [usually] £800, and if she is not a virgin, it is [usually] £600, which is a difference of 25%, this percentage difference can be deducted from the £1,000 dowry of the woman [and so her dowry would be £750].
Ruling 2463. It is unlawful for a man and a non-maḥram woman to remain together in a secluded place where no one else is present in the event that an immoral act taking place is deemed probable, even if the place is such that someone else could enter. However, if an immoral act taking place is not deemed probable, then there is no problem.
Ruling 2464. If a man specifies a woman’s dowry in the marriage contract but he does not have the intention to give it, the marriage contract is valid. However, the man must give the dowry.
Ruling 2465. A Muslim who leaves the religion of Islam and chooses to be a disbeliever is called an ‘apostate’ (murtadd). There are two types of apostates:
1. ‘fiṭrī’: this is someone whose father and mother, or one of them, were Muslim when he was born, and after he was able to discern between right and wrong (tamyīz), he remained a Muslim, and after that he became a disbeliever.
2. ‘millī’: this is someone who is the opposite [of a fiṭrī apostate; i.e. it refers to someone whose father and mother were disbelievers when he was born, and after he was able to discern between right and wrong, he became a Muslim, and after that he became a disbeliever].
Ruling 2466. If after the conclusion of a marriage contract a woman becomes apostate, whether that be millī or fiṭrī, her marriage contract becomes void. In the event that her husband has not had sexual intercourse with her, she does not have to observe ʿiddah. The same applies if she becomes apostate after sexual intercourse but she is postmenopausal (yāʾisah) [as defined below] or a minor (ṣaghīrah). However, if she is of the age of women who experience menstruation (ḥayḍ), she must observe ʿiddah according to the instructions that will be mentioned in the laws on divorce.
If she reverts to Islam within the ʿiddah period, the marriage contract will remain as it is, although it is better that if the couple wish to live together they should contract a marriage again, and if they wish to separate they should get a divorce. A postmenopausal woman in this ruling is a woman who has reached the age of fifty, and due to her advanced age, she does not experience ḥayḍ and has no expectation of experiencing it again.
Ruling 2467. If a man becomes a fiṭrī apostate after marriage, his wife becomes unlawful for him. If they have had sexual intercourse and she is neither postmenopausal nor a minor, she must observe the ʿiddah of a widow, which will be explained in the rulings on divorce. In fact, based on obligatory precaution, if they have not had sexual intercourse or she is postmenopausal or a minor, she must still observe the ʿiddah of a widow. If the man repents within the ʿiddah period, then based on obligatory precaution, if the couple wish to live together, they must contract a marriage again, and if they wish to separate, they must get a divorce.
