I am a 46 year old catholic who
loves a 62 year old Muslim . We have been together for 15 years. We were once married and
after the divorce, we got back together but never remarried. He is presently in Mecca for
the Muslim Pilgrimage Mecca Ritual. Once he comes back from Mecca, what will happen to our
relationship? We would like to grow old together. Do we have to get married? Can our
relationship stay the same? If we have to marry, can he marry me as a Christian woman? I
am not a virgin as I have been with him for the last 15 years. I have never been
unfaithful to him. I do not want to convert as I am comfortable as a Christian. I respect
the Muslim religion and I love him for being so religious and a good person. Please help
us guide us in the right direction. Thank you.

Praise be to Allaah.

 

The best thing for you to do is to become Muslim, because Allaah created
mankind to worship Him as He wants. He wants us to worship Him in the Islamic way. The
Christian religion was right in its own time (when it first came), but it has been
distorted, then Allaah abrogated it with Islam. The Muslims recognize the religion of the
Messiah, may peace be upon him, but it was followed before Islam came, by a small group of
people. Then Islam came and abrogated it, so it is not right to follow it now.

After man dies, he will have another life. Either he will be
blessed (in Paradise), if he worshipped Allaah as Allâh wants, or he will be doomed (in
Hell) if he went against the commands of Allaah Who created him and gave him his
provision. So how can you worship Allaah by following an abrogated religion? We advise you
to read good Islamic books, and you will be guided to the truth, by the permission of
Allaah. Do not be deceived by the large numbers of Christians around you, or by the fact
that it is the religion of your forefathers, or by the influence of the media. You have a
mind of your own, so use it and do not live according to what others think.

If you insist on remaining Christian, then in Islam it is
permissible for a Muslim to marry a Christian woman, if she is chaste and does not engage
in forbidden relationships. It is not permissible for him to live with her outside of
marriage. If he does that, then he is a sinner who has disobeyed Allaah by committing a
serious major sin, and he deserves punishment in this world and the next.

We ask Allaah to guide you and him, to make you strong and to
grant you a good end. Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.