1. MUHAMMAD MUJEEBULLAH SIDDIQUI, J.--- The facts giving rise to the above application are that the applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum is widow of late Zubair Hussain Siddiqui.. After the death of Zubair Hussain Siddiqui, one of his daughters namely, Naghma Siddiqui filed a petition bearing S.M.A. No.104 of 1995, praying for issuance of Letter of Administration in respect of the properties left by the deceased. The Letter of Administration was granted. Thereafter the listed applications have been submitted by Mst. Shakeela Khanum widow of deceased Zubair Hussain Siddiqui contending that petitioner Mst. Naghma Siddiqui is married to a Christian namely, Curt Lawrance Hilifram. It is alleged that another daughter of deceased Zubair Hussain Siddiqui, namely, Mst. Nighat Siddiqui is also married to another Christian gentleman. It is further contended that petitioner Mst. Nighma Siddiqui though daughter of late Zubair Hussain Siddiqui is married to a Christian and therefore, she has ceased to be a Muslim as per Islamic Law. Same plea has been taken in respect of Mst.
2. Nighat Siddiqui. It is urged that as per Islamic Law, the person who ceases to be Muslim cannot inherit the property of a Muslim as his/her legal heir. It is submitted that according to Succession Act, only legal heir of a deceased can file a petition for grant of Succession Certificate or Letter of Administration and the petitioner Mst. Naghma Siddiqui ceased to be Muslim thereby losing her status of legal heir of deceased Zubair Hussain Siddiqui, therefore, she had no right to file the application for the grant of Letter of Administration. It is further stated that applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum has obtained a Fatwa from Jamiatul Uloom Islamia Allama Banori Town, Karachi, to the effect that if a Muslim girl marries a non-Muslim and continues to be wife of non-Muslim, she ceases to be a Muslim and is not entitled to inherit the property of her father. It is also averred that the petitioner has obtained the Letter of Administration by giving wrong statement without disclosing that she had married to a non-Muslim and therefore, the Letter of Administration already issued may be revoked.
3. In the second application, it is prayed that Mst. Naghma be directed to produce National Identity Card, Domicile Certificate, old and new Passport of Mr. Curt Lawrance Hillfram and she be further directed to produce her original Nikahnama.
4. Mst. Naghma Siddiqui in her counter-affidavit has denied that she married a non-Muslim. She has produced her Nikahnama dated 12-5-1983 showing that Mr. Curt Lawrance Hillfram converted to Islam before marriage with Mst. Naghma Siddiqui and adopted the name of Omar Larry Hillfram.
5. She has asserted that the marriage was performed according to Islamic Law and she is still Muslim and consequently a legal heir of her father late Zubair Hussain Siddiqui. She has further asserted that her sister Nighat Siddiqui was also married to a person who had embraced Islam and she had two children from the wedlock namely, Saleem and Suraiya both of whom are also Muslims. She has further stated that while submitting application for the grant of Letter of Administration she disclosed full facts and names of all the legal heirs of deceased Zubair Hussain Siddiqui including applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum. It is contended by her that she and her sister being Muslims and there is no concealment of fact, the application is liable to be dismissed. Along with her Nikahnama dated 12-5-1983 registered on 14-5-1983, she has subsequently produced the Certificate dated 11- 5-1983, that Mr. Curt Lawrance Hillfram embraced Islam in presence of one Moulana Sabir Hussain, on 11-5-1983, and adopted the Muslim name of Omar Larry Hillfram. She has further produced the National Identity Card of her husband showing his name as Omar. Larry Hillfram.
6. I have heard Mr. Shamdas B. Changani, Advocate for applicant, Mst. Shakeela Khartum and Ms. Rukhsana Ahmed, Advocate for the petitioner Mrs. Naghma Siddiqui Hillfram. Perused the Fatwa produced by applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum forming basis of the application. The Fatwa contains that marriage of a Muslim female with non-Muslim male is prohibited and if any Muslim female has married a Christian, the marriage is void and therefore, they should separate immediately with repentance on their mistake. It further shows that if a Muslim female has not converted to Christianity and does not believe her Nikah with Christian as permissible then merely by such marriage with non-Muslim she will not become a non-Muslim. However, if the female has converted to Christianity or knowingly that marriage with a Christian is prohibited still considers it to be permissible then the said female becomes Murtad (apostle). The Fatwa further contains that if a female has not converted to Christianity and does not consider such marriage to be permissible she continues to be a Muslim and she will be entitled to inherit her share. However, if such a female has converted to. Christianity or considers such Nikah to be permissible then only she shall become Murtad (apostle) and shall be deprived of the inheritance.
7. I have asked the learned counsel for the applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum to show any law under which a Muslim female becomes non-Muslim merely by marrying a non-Muslim and becomes disentitled from claiming inheritance in respect of the properties left by her parents. He is not able to produce any law in this behalf. The contents of Fatwa forming basis of the application are very clear on the point that merely by marrying a non-Muslim, a female does not become non-Muslim and shall not be deprived of her right of inheritance in respect of the properties left by her parents.
8. Secondly, the most important point is that petitioner Mst. Naghma Siddiqui and her sister Nighat Siddiqui claim that their husbands, who were Christians originally converted to Islam and thereafter their marriage was performed. There is an affidavit sworn by husband of petitioner Naghma Siddiqui, to the effect that he embraced Islam on 11-5-1983 and thereafter married petitioner Mst. Naghma Siddiqui on 12-5-1983. I am of the considered opinion that the faith is a matter between a person and Allah. If a person says that he is a Muslim and it is not shown that he still believes in some thing against the basic articles of faith, then nobody has any right to dispute the claim. I would like to clarify that if a person claims himself to be a Muslim but believes in something which is against the basic articles of faith such as, is the case of Ahmedis/Qadianis, he shall be treated as non-Muslim. In this case, there is nothing on record to show that Mr. Omar Larry Hillfram, who has alleged that he converted to Islam on 11-5-1983, still believes in any faith which is against the articles of faith of Islam. Mr. Shamdas B. Changani, learned counsel for applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum has contended that in the old Passport of the husband of applicant his name is shown as Curt Lawrance Hillfram and in the new Passport he got his name changed to Omar Larry Hillfram and therefore, it may be inferred that he is still a non-muslim. I do not find any substance in the contention for the reason that the change of name is not necessary for conversion to Islam. After conversion of companions of the.
9. Holy Prophet, to Islam, names of very few persons were changed and names of majority were left unchanged. A recent case can be cited with benefit in respect of well-known Cricketer of Pakistan namely Muhammad Yousuf. He was a Christian and his Christian name was Yousuf Youhana.
10. Recently he has declared that he has converted to Islam and has further declared that he had embraced Islam sometime ago but had not changed his name as he was advised not to change the name immediately. He has stated that even without change of name he used to perform the Islamic Injunctions and rites.
11. In the above circumstances it is held that in the first instance the applicant Mst. Shakeela Khanum has no right to dispute the claim of the husband of petitioner Naghma Siddiqui that he had converted to Islam on 11-5-1983. The Nikahnama is also a proof in this behalf. However, if even no document is available the mere assertion of a person that he embraced Islam on a particular date, his statement is to be accepted and he shall not be called upon to produce any other evidence to establish the conversion to Islam. Secondly, a Muslim female marrying a Christian shall not become non-Muslim merely by fact of such marriage though it would be a sinful act, and shall not be deprived of his right of inheritance from her Muslim parents.
12. The application for revocation of the Letter of Administration on the ground that the petitioner has no right of inheritance in respect of the properties left by her father is without substance which stands dismissed, along with another application.