What happens to a marriage if one spouse leaves Islam, or if a wife embraces Islam while her husband does not?

A Muslim woman may not remain married to a man who is not a Muslim: "They are not lawful for them, nor are they lawful for them" (Quran 60:10), and Allah forbids giving believing women in marriage to idolaters (Quran 2:221). So if a wife accepts Islam and her husband does not, the marriage is suspended and marital relations stop; the majority hold that if he accepts Islam before her iddah expires the marriage continues on the original contract with no new nikah, and that once her iddah passes without his Islam the marriage is dissolved. A number of scholars, among them Ibn Taymiyyah, held that it remains valid as long as she has not married another, citing the report that the Prophet ﷺ returned his daughter Zaynab to Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' on the basis of the first marriage when he embraced Islam after a long interval (narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, graded hasan). If instead a spouse abandons Islam outright, the marriage is annulled by that apostasy. However, declaring a specific person an apostate is a judgement for qualified scholars and Islamic courts, not for a spouse or relative to pronounce over sins, negligence or doubtful statements; such cases must be referred, not settled in the home.

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