Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Who has guided them to Islam. We ask Allaah to help us

and them to be steadfast in adhering to His religion. In response to your question, if the

marriage was contracted through an offer or proposal (eejaab) from the walee

(guardian) of the bride and acceptance (qabool) on the part of the groom, with the

consent of the bride, in front of two Muslim witnesses of good character (as regards

piety, attitude, conduct, etc.), then the marriage contract is valid. Ibn Qudaamah (may

Allaah have mercy on him) said: “A marriage is not properly contracted unless there

are two Muslim witnesses, regardless of whether the bride and groom are both Muslims or

only the groom is. This is what Ahmad stated, and it is also the opinion of

al-Shaafi’i.” (Al-Mughni, 9/349; al-Mufaddal fi Ahkaam

al-Mar’ah, 6/120).

If the marriage was conducted as described above, then it is valid,

otherwise it must be repeated. It is permissible for a non-Muslim woman to be married by

her non-Muslim guardian, but if she becomes Muslim, this role can only be played by a

Muslim. If she has no Muslim walee, then this role can be delegated to the director of the

Islamic Centre or whoever is acting in his stead. As regards the children who were born

during this time, they are the children of the man and should be given his name, as is the

ruling in cases where there is uncertainty of this nature.

And Allaah knows best.