This is the question regarding my friend. She is in a relationship with a person whom she consider very truthful and he had been stood by her through thick and thin. She only talks to him on telephone and not any kind of physical relationship. She is a student of MBBS (medical) 3rd year, and want to convert this relationship in a halal form by “NIKAAH”. But she want to do this independently without informing her parents as she have a strong belief that her parents will not support her and after knowing her relationship with a person , they will restrict her to the boundaries of home and even will not allow her to continue her studies. When she will complete her MBBS, then she will tell her parents about the NIKKAAH as at that time she would be in a better position to convince them due to her strong qualification and position and her parents will be agreed with her.

According to her, her father has always not been very loving to his children and he is not a person of good character. He is busy in his own life. He is only interested in her MBBS Medical degree and uses this to boost among the company of his friend that my daughter is becoming a doctor.
Dear sir i have tried very hard to convince my friend about this haram relationship, i think that is the reason she is thinking about nikkaah. Once she had cut her wrist vein and remained under medical supervision for some days and once she took a lot of sleeping pills and started wandering on streets and now still she uses sleeping pills sometimes to sleep (so you can understand her psychological condition). She says that she just needs love and affection which that person can give her. This person is with her from almost 2 years. She would never leave that person so please advise me the best option I should tell her. DO you think she should do Nikkaah?

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Answer

The initial view of the Hanafi school of thought was that the marriage of a free sane adult woman without the approval of her guardian is valid if the person she is marrying is a legal and suitable match for her in terms of their religion, independence, lineage and possession. If the person happens to be unsuitable for her in terms of the aforementioned categories then the marriage will be deemed invalid.

However due to the corrupt nature of society today (Fasad-zaman), if a free, sane adult women gets married without her guardians consent, the marriage will be valid irrespective of whether the man is a suitable match for her or not. (Raddul-Muhtar p157v4)

Regarding the aforementioned situation, it will be best for the boy and girl to get married so that they can save themselves from sins.

If the marriage was done in the presence of two male witnesses or one male and two female witnesses the marriage will be considered valid. (Hidayah p.306 v.2)

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.