Is the marriage considered valid if it was conducted secretly without the knowledge of the husband's family, without a dowry or public announcement, due to the woman's pregnancy by the man, and is the child she bore considered a product of fornication?

It is not permissible to marry an adulteress except after repentance and purification (ensuring she is not pregnant). The majority of scholars hold that a child born out of wedlock (walad al-zina) is not attributed to the fornicator but only to his mother. However, some scholars have permitted the fornicator to marry the woman who conceived from him, and the child is attributed to him if she was not in a marital bed with another man. The marriage is valid if it is conducted with a guardian (wali) and two witnesses, even if they kept it secret or conspired to conceal it. The lack of knowledge of the husband's family does not harm its validity. As for not mentioning the dowry (mahr), it is not a condition for the validity of the marriage. The aforementioned marriage is considered invalid by the majority of scholars if it was conducted with witnesses before purification, or if it was not conducted before repentance according to those who do not deem the marriage of an adulteress valid. There is no harm in adopting the view of those who validate this marriage after consummation. Our fatwa follows the opinion of the majority that the lineage of a child born out of wedlock is not attributed to the fornicator.