Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

We ask Allaah to make your heart steadfast in adhering to

Islam, and to guide you to the best of actions and words, and to make

goodness easy for you, and to bless you with a righteous husband who will

help you to adhere steadfastly to His religion.

Secondly:

There is nothing wrong with a woman asking for marriage from

a righteous man who will help her to adhere to her religion. We have stated

that in the answer to question number

20916.

But we advise you not to ask for that from this imam, for two

reasons:

1.So as to preserve the dignity

of this imam before the people and to preserve your dignity, because your

first husband has spread the rumour that he (the imam) is the reason for the

separation between him and you, and if you marry him that will reinforce

this rumour and confirm it, which would lead to bad consequences for both of

you.

2.The marriage could fail or be

faced with problems if news of your marriage reaches the authorities in your

country. The one who tells them could be your first husband, seeking revenge

against you. The Muslim should not be the cause of harm to himself or to

others.

Hence we advise you to avoid thinking of this imam as a

husband for you. The good qualities that you see in him may be found in

someone else, and may be even greater. May Allaah make it easy for you to

find a righteous husband who is better than him, sooner rather than later.

You could ask him to help you to look for a suitable husband

for you.

If Allaah makes it easy for you to find a righteous husband,

then it is essential to have a guardian with regard to your marriage. As you

do not have anyone in your family who is Muslim, so none of them can act as

your guardian, then your guardian should be the imam of the Islamic centre

or some other Muslim who has standing in society and is known for religious

commitment, trustworthiness and wisdom. There is nothing wrong with

appointing this imam as your guardian to do the marriage contract for you,

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)

said:

If the one who should be the guardian with regard to marriage

is not able to perform this function, then guardianship passes to the most

suitable of those who can be found, who have a kind of guardianship with

regard to matters other than marriage, such as the chief of the village,

leader of a caravan and so on. End quote.

Al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p.

530.

See also the answer to question number

389.

We advise you to be patient in putting up with the mockery of

your family because of your becoming Muslim, and do not give up calling them

to the goodness that Allaah has made easy for you; and persist in praying

for them to be guided, for Allaah may answer your supplication and guide

them to the truth to which He guided you.

And Allaah knows best.