May a woman change her faith without her husband knowing?

Yes. Faith is a matter between a person and God, and a woman does not need her husband’s permission for it.

Faith is the most personal decision a human being can make. Every person, man or woman, stands before God in their own right and bears their own responsibility for what they believe. That is why the first verse above says there is no compulsion in religion. This holds true within marriage as well.

The Holy Qur’an gives a striking example. It sets forth the wife of Pharaoh as a model for all believers, men and women alike. Her husband was a mighty ruler who rejected God. She, however, believed in God and prayed to Him for deliverance. She certainly did not ask her husband’s permission for that faith.

Marriage gives husband and wife many rights and duties towards one another. But it gives a husband no right over his wife’s conscience. What she believes is her own decision, just as he decides about his own faith.

When and how a woman tells her husband about her decision is something she can weigh up herself with wisdom. Some women have to expect rejection or pressure and need time. What matters is that her faith is sincere. Before God, it is genuine conviction that counts, not the approval of another person.