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December 21, 2003 

Your Advocate

This week your advocate is M. Moazzam Husain of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. His professional interests include civil
law, criminal law and constitutional law.

Q: I am working with an international organisation. My wife also works in a private wife. We are married for more than 12 years. We have two children. I am a Muslim and my wife in Hindu. We got married without consent of our families. We don't had any problem in this inter- religion marriage. Now we are facing problem with regard to religion of our children. I want them to follow Islam while my wife wants them to follow Hindu religion. I think our children may have to face legal problem with regard to inheritance and succession. I know there are some differences between Muslim and Hindu law in this regard. Is there any way to determine which religion our children will follow? Can we leave it to them? What law will be applicable for them for succession and inheritance?
B.M. Akhter Hossain,
Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

Your Advocate: You have raised complicated questions of personal laws, particularly of the Muslim law. The legal problem you have posed is emerging with the change of time and the determinations of the rights and liabilities of the parties to such marriage and their offspring and others that come along would necessitate more and more indepth-search into the personal laws hardly ever attracted.
You have not mentioned the faith or the law according to which your marriage was solemnized. It is important to determine the status and incidents of marriage and the questions of inheritance and successions etc. of your children. As I could gather from your words you being a Muslim male married a Hindu girl supposedly in accordance with your own faith, that is, Muslim shariah. According to Muslim law a Muslim male may contract a valid marriage with a Muslim, Jewish or Christian woman but not with an idolatress or a fire worshipper. But marriage with an idolatress or fire-worshipper is not void. It is merely irregular. Since your marriage is not void your children are legitimate. Therefore, they will inherit your property in accordance with Muslim law of inheritance. As for the mothers property, it will automatically go to them as her son irrespective of the question of legitimacy.
So far as the question of options of your sons to profess a religion is concerned primarily they are Muslims by birth as sons born to a Muslim father. As a Muslim father and natural guardian a duty is cast upon you to raise your children in accordance with the injunctions of Quran and Hadith. So, question of determination of religion is not relevant here. Upon attaining age if they feel inclined to their mother's or any other faith and inwardly feel called to profess it, well, it would be entirely within their choice.