Delaying marrying again for the sake of her children

26-4-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

I don’t want to get married, because I have children. My ex-husband said if he agrees to the person then he will permit me to take care of children. I think it is Haram for me to keep my children when I get married. Is it Haram to keep the kids if I remarried? I am in America but I may leave this country some day.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

 

If the father of your children allows you to keep custody of your children when you remarry and you are able to fulfill the rights of your new husband, which is expected, and take care of the children, then this is something acceptable.

However, if you are not able to accept these responsibilities then you have to look into your situation.  If you have an ardent desire to remarry to an extent that you fear committing illicit sexual relations, you have to put marriage as the first priority over fostering the children, because the Shariah releases you from fostering the children when you remarry, and entrusts other people to do it.  If you do not wish to remarry and your children are in real need of your fostering and affection, then we advise you to be patient until your children pass the age of fostering before marrying again.

Finally, we remind you that it is not permissible for a Muslim to live in non-Muslim countries if he/she is unable to practise his/her religion.

 

Allah knows best.