As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All Praise and Thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In response to the question, Dr. Jasser Auda, President of Maqasid Institute Global, says,

Regarding your question:

(1) As a Muslim, you could ‘date’ this lady, in the sense of seeing her and perhaps going to public places, etc. But it is a major sin to have any sexual relationship with her until/unless you are married. So, you need to make a promise to God to abide by this Islamic rule.

(2) If you think that she is the right person for you and she feels the same, you could marry her, since it is certainly lawful for a Muslim to marry a Christian girl.

(3) According to Islam, the children are born naturally Muslim anyways. You could agree with her to ‘let the children choose’, but this agreement should never mean that you do not teach the children about Islam. You should teach them about Islam (and she could teach them about her religion too, if she wishes).

But in any case, I am not sure whether the difference in your faiths will cause problems between both of you, to be honest. Therefore, I would advise you that you postpone having children together for a few years until your marriage stabilizes.

This is not the ‘opinion of Islam’! This is my opinion, brother, and God knows best!

Allah Almighty knows best.