A Person Utters The Shahada To Get Married
Question:
If a person utters the Shahada solely in order to get married under Islamic rights but never practices and many years later this person dies never having practiced Islam or any other religion would this person be considered as a Muslim and can an Islamic funeral be given?
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalaam.
 If a person utters the shahadah to get married and believes in the shahadah by accepting Allah as his creator and God, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S) as the final Prophet and Islam as his religion, then he will be deemed as a Muslim even if he did not practice any of the rituals and practices of Islam. In this case, when he dies, he will be given a Islamic funeral. If however, he did any act which showed that he followed another religion, or he rejected Islam, then he will no longer be a Muslim and upon his death, he will not be given an Islamic funeral.
 In a case where one utters the shahadah to get married, but did not have any belief in the shahadah. If he did not accept Allah as his creator and God, did not accept Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S) as the final messenger and did not accept Islam as his religion, then he will not be considered a Muslim. Upon his death, he will not be given a Muslim funeral.
 And Allah Knows best
Mufti Waseem Khan
27/01/2015