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Is it permissible to seek divorce from one's husband and marry another man after engaging in an illicit relationship and conceiving a child from him?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Adultery is one of the greatest abominations and most heinous crimes, especially for a married woman, as it involves betrayal of her husband and his honor. Many شرعية (Islamic legal) texts have been revealed prohibiting it and threatening its perpetrators with torment in this world and the hereafter, including the Almighty's saying: "And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an indecency and is evil as a way" (Quran 17:32), and the hadith about "the married fornicator" which mandates stoning, and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) vision of some of the torment of fornicators in Hell. The characteristics of the servants of the Most Merciful include "and they do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse," and a threat of multiplied torment for those who do. The punishment for the male and female fornicator is one hundred lashes, and stoning for the married individual. The adulteress must repent sincerely, distance herself from the fornicator, and leave mixed-gender work. It is not permissible for her to seek divorce from her husband, and the child resulting from adultery is attributed to the owner of the bed unless the husband denies paternity through li'an (oath of condemnation). The husband must deny the child through li'an if he is certain of his wife's adultery, to prevent attributing someone who is not his to him.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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