Wants to marry a woman with child by previous marriage

8-2-2005 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am a 41-years Muslim actually living in Spain I am engaged with a woman from my home country-an Arab country-I strongly love that woman that I want to marry her as soon as possible. The problem is that she has a child (an 11 years boy) from the first husband that I am getting afraid to happen problems about or with the child. So please will you advice me in the nearest future what and how to deal with this matter.

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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 is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

First, you have to know that whenever a woman remarries, she is no longer entitled to foster her children (from the first husband). So the fostering of the children moves to whoever is appropriate and entitled to do so, like the father or the mother of the woman and the like. So you are not obliged to let this child live with you in your house and you can put a condition in the contract that he should not stay with his mother in your house. Then she will be obliged to fulfil this condition unless she is obliged to foster this child because no one else can do so, or whoever can foster him is not suitable to foster him.

Allaah knows best.