A girl ran away with non-Muslim man. What should the parents do?

Question

Please advise on how to handle the situation where the daughter ran off and married a non-muslim man without the knowledge and/or blessing of her parents. They are now living as man and wife in a dual-faith marriage and want the girl’s parents to give blessings and consent for them to make Nikaah. What is the duty of the parents?

Abdul Hannan Nizami · Accepted Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The situation in reference is unfortunate. The parent’s focus should now be on safeguarding the Iman of their daughter. She is living with the non-Muslim man and he could cause her to lose her Iman. If the daughter wants the parents to give her their blessing to live with the man, they should accept on condition the man accepts Islam and a nikaah be performed. In this approach, the girls Iman will be intact and she will be saved from zina (adultery). The man will also be blessed with Iman. These situations must be conducted with diplomacy and rationale. An emotional attitude can be detrimental and counterproductive.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Abdul Hannan Nizami,
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

(05/13/2014)

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