Title: Custody of Wife's Children After Divorce Question: Respected sir after long search of proper guidance I have reached you with the hope that you can help me out in the situation which is very difficult and I am facing hell time in my life, I was a Hindu since three years ago and converted to Muslim and got married to girl who was already divorced since 3 years back and having two daughters I adopted the daughters and married the girl and started learning about Islam and I was working for one of the good companies for the salary of Dhs. 3500/- a good and comfortable house and economical car, I never tried to save any money for my self I always kept on fulfilling the wishes of children and the girl and now I have lost my job in Abu Dhabi and got one temporary job in Dubai but still my family is back in Abu Dhabi due the children are having good school in Abu Dhabi I go and meet them on my all the leave days and see to that everything they require is available or not but since I have came to Dubai some local citizen had misguided my wife and offered her some money good house 'A' grade car and monthly expense to marry him after divorcing me and best part is that even the girl knows that the children cannot stay without me because children are not aware of that I am not there real father but the girl and her relatives had several time tried to make them understand but they not ready to listen anybody a word about this topic and I had also never told any body that they are not my real children who ever asks me I tell them that I got married since 10 years back. And know under the pressure of my wife now I have applied for divorce for which I am not at all happy neither the children are, I would like to know in that case when she can get the divorce from the Shari`ah court of law and if internally I want to get the matter extended without her knowledge how long can I extend this and when can she marry with that local man and what right I have on the children who are very much innocent. And even please tell me who can help me to get rid of this local man without any violent situation, I will be very much grateful for your kind help which can even save my life because after converting to Muslim I have no body except me in my past life or neither I am going to them only the relatives I have are my small lovely family which going to be destroyed because of this local man. May Allah guide us all to the path of His liking and grant us the true understanding of His book. Thank you & Regards Answer: There are two aspects of your question. Firstly, whether or not you can avoid divorce with your wife; and secondly, whether or not you can have the custody of the children. As far as the second question is concerned, I really do not think that in the presence of their real mother, any law would give you the custody of the children. Laws, as we know, are blind toward human emotions and feelings. As far as the avoidance of divorce is concerned, I would suggest that you meet your wife and try to talk her out of it. No law in this world can object to your meeting your wife and convincing her to avoid divorce. However, if your wife has already made up her mind and is not convinced to maintaining the marriage, then, unfortunately, the Shari`ah would not recommend you to hold the woman in marriage, against her will and liking. My dear brother, I can truly appreciate and understand how difficult and emotionally stressing a decision of divorce would be for you; especially in view of your recent decision to convert to Islam. However, I assure you, on the basis of God's own promise that if you try your best of living a life of obedience to God's laws, He shall Himself open His doors of blessings upon you in this world as well as the hereafter. The Qur'an has promised us: Whoever fears Allah [and lives a life according to His directives], God shall indeed provide him with ease and shall bless him from places that he never even thought of. Whoever puts his trust in God, God shall [Himself] become all-sufficient for him. ( Al-Talaaq 65: 2 - 3) My dear brother, I remind you that steadfastness in times of troubles, placing all your trust in God and truly believing that He shall never leave you alone is always required of a Muslim. Therefore, even if after trying your best to avoid divorce, if you still have to go through the emotional trauma, then always remember what God has told us in Al-Baqarah 2: 216. The Qur'an says: It is possible that you dislike something, but it is good for you; and that you like something, but it is bad for you. God knows [everything], while you do not. Thus, do not lose heart and do not lose your trust in the King and the Lord of all men. If it is His decision that you be separated from your wife and your family, then it must be in the best real interest of your family, yourself and all that surrounds you. My fondest regards and prayers for you and your loved ones. 4 th July 2000