Question Summary:
Zina

Question Detail:

I have commited zinna, the man who I had been looking to marry for two years, has recently told me he is not a Muslim, I have also learnt that I am pregnant.
He wants me to abort the baby as I am in early stages of pregnancy but I am not even going to consider this as I am not punishing a soul for my sin and going against Allah's s.w.t will, As i have already made a grave mistake I can't make another one.  
Please advise me as to what punishment I deserve, or what I need to do to repent. I am deeply regretful for what I have done and really want forgiveness
Also please can you give me information on how the rights or lifestyle of an illigitimate child are different to a legitimate one in Islam ?
I plan to move away from the area I am living in and start a new life somewhere else in the country with my child.
I do not want my child to suffer for my mistake, I plan for him or her to have an Islamic upbringing and I really need to know if other than having no father, are there any other rights that will be taken away from him or her.  
 

Answer :

We are extremely saddened and grieved to  hear about your illegitimate involvement and affair. Zina is an extremely odious and abhorrent sin. It has grave spiritual and emotional consequences as you have unfortunately come to experience. However, we are pleased to learn that you have realized your mistake and have resolved to make amends. You ought to sincerely and  genuinely repent from the sin of Zina from the bottom of your heart. You should perform a perfect wudhū or ghusl with deep remorse and grief intending and imagining that as water pours over your various limbs, your sins are being washed off. Thereafter, you should find the most secluded and isolate corner of your house and perform the most sincere and spiritual Salah that you can, turning to Allah in full repentance and remorse. You should perform every posture of Salah with the firm conviction that Allah is watching you and listening to you. In the last sajdah of the last rak‘at you should implore Allah’s forgiveness and mercy by abundantly reciting the same dua (in Arabic) that Prophet Yunus (AS) recited whilst trapped in the belly of the fish, namely,
] لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ [
Laa ilāha illa anta, Subhānaka innī kuntu mina al-Zālimīn (trans. – (O Allah), there is no other deity besides You, You are purified (of every blemish); verily I am among the oppressors).
 
After completion of your Salah, you should spend a lot of time in earnest repentance shedding tears of remorse for the sin begging Allah’s forgiveness. you should make a firm intention of never repeating the sin again. After you have finished your Salah and repentance, you should maintain the conviction that Allah has forgiven you and effaced the sin from your account of bad deeds. You should then continue with your life, reformed and forgiven. Do not perpetually hanker over the sin after your repentance, perceiving that your repentance was not accepted, as that will create a spiritual barrier between you and Allah.
 
In regards to your future child, his rights and lifestyle will be similar to an ordinary child save the fact that he will not have any lineage to a father. Thus, he will not inherit from his illegitimate father, nor will the father inherit from him and neither will the child have any rights to expenditure etc. There will be no Shar‘ī relationship between the child and the illegitimate father. The child will be solely attributed to you as the mother.
 
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best


Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah