Answer
Wa`alykum As-Salamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1) If woman’s reversion to Islam occurs before the consummation of marriage, then they must immediately separate.
2) If woman’s reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the husband also embraced Islam before the expiry of her period of waiting, then the marriage is valid and correct.
3) If woman’s reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the period of waiting expires, she can wait for him to embrace Islam even if that period happens to be a lengthy one.
4) If the wife chooses to marry another man after the expiration of the period of waiting, she must first request a dissolution of marriage through legal channels.
Regarding your question about if a new Muslim woman can keep her Christian husband, the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:
Marrying non-Muslim Husband
The Council recognizes and acknowledges the conditions in which new Muslim sisters in the West find themselves when their husbands choose to remain on their religion.
The Council affirms and repeats that it is forbidden for a Muslim female to establish marriage to a non-Muslim male. This has been an issue of consensus throughout the history of this nation.
Conversion after Marriage
However, in the case of marriage being established prior to the female entering the fold of Islam, the Council has decided the following:
First: If both husband and wife revert to Islam and there is no Shari`ah objection to their marriage in the first place, such as blood or foster relations, which deem the very establishment of marriage unlawful, the marriage shall be valid and correct.
Second: Assuming that the marriage is properly contracted in the beginning, if the husband reverts to Islam alone, while his wife remains a Jew or a Christian, then the marriage shall maintain its validity, i.e. it will not be affected by the husband’s conversion to Islam.
Wife’s Conversion without Husband’s Conversion
Third: If the wife reverts to Islam while her husband remains on his religion, the Council sees the following:
1) If her reversion to Islam occurs before the consummation of marriage, then they must immediately separate.
2) If her reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the husband also embraced Islam before the expiry of her period of waiting (iddah), then the marriage is valid and correct.
3) If her reversion to Islam occurs after the consummation of marriage, and the period of waiting expires, shecan wait for him to embrace Islam even if that period happens to be a lengthy one. Once he does so and reverts to Islam, then their marriage is valid and correct.
4) If the wife chooses to marry another man after the expiration of the period of waiting, she must first request a dissolution of marriage through legal channels.
Conjugal Rights
Fourth: According to the four main schools of jurisprudence, it is forbidden for the wife to remain with her husband, or indeed to allow him conjugal rights, once her period of waiting has expired.
However, some scholars see that it is for her to remain with him, allowing him to enjoy full conjugal rights, if he does not prevent her from exercising her religion and she has hope in him to revert to Islam.
The reason for this is to consider the case of women who would find it difficult to embrace Islam with the condition of being separated from their husbands and deserting their families.
Those scholars based their view upon the ruling of Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in the case of the woman from Al-Heera who reverted to Islam while her husband remained on his religion.
According to the authentic narration of Yazeed ibn Abdullah Al-Khatmi, Umar ibn Al-Khattab made it optional for the woman to leave her husband or to stay with him.
They also cite the opinion of Ali ibn Abi Talib concerning the Christian woman who embraced Islam while still married to a Christian or a Jew. Ali said that her husband’s conjugal right was still inalienable, as he had a contract.
This is also an authentic narration. It is also known that Ibrahim Al-Nakhai, Ash-Shibi and Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman had the same view.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.