Marriage to a man who wants to change gender

Question:

Assalamu Alykum Shaykh,

What is the Islamic religious ruling if a lady gets married and she finds out that her husband wants to change gender?

Answer:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

If a woman is married to a man who is claiming to be a woman or wants to transition into being a woman, her marriage is still islamicaly intact, provided the husband does not religiously deem the act of changing sexes, as islamicaly allowed. According to Islam, he is still a man (male) if he was born with male anatomies. However, in such a circumstance, the wife in this predicament has the right to end her marriage through Khula’ and or Faskh. – (Rad Al-Muḥtār, Vol 6, Page 728, Dār Al-Fikr[1], Al-Sharḥ Al-Mumt’i, Vol 12, Page 106, Dār Al-Nashr)[2]

“Do not retain them [in your nikāḥ] in order to harm them or to wrong them. Whoever does this, wrongs their own soul.” – (Qur’ān 231)[3]

And Allah knows Best

Mufti Umer Farooq Saleem