Fatwa ID: 01548

Answered by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question:

In the past I met my bf (ex-as I no longer do this sort of thing anymore) in private. by private I mean just me and him having a stroll through the park alone without any friends, however there were many people who did pass by, we were silly and said things like 'will you marry me, yes I accept', and declarations of marriage; people may have over heard our conversation and who happened to walk by, will this have made a marriage take place??? I am really afraid that my nikah is done, this was a long time ago, like 4 years and now my parents are actually looking for me to get married.

Answer:

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

In the following situation, the marriage would not be considered to be valid. One of the conditions of Nikah is that two witnesses are present in the gathering and also they both hear the statements of the bride and groom. (Raddul Muhtar p.21 v.3, Fatawa Hindiyyah p.267 v.1 & Kifayatul Mufti p.147 v.5)

It is clearly evident from the question you sent that even though strange or random people may have heard various statements, they were not present with you to hear the statement from both of you clearly.

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.