Fatwa ID: 04886

Answered by: Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question

I would like to ask you regarding the validity of my nikah. My family did not agree to me marrying this man as he was previously married, therefore we had our nikah carried out without them. My husband and I had our nikah conducted by a Maulana from our local mosque who claims to have experience and knowledge in such matters. There were 3 witnesses present. 2 males and 1 female. My wali was not present. My husband was asked if he accepts me (mentioning my name) in his nikah for £100 as dowry. He replied yes. He was only asked once, and the maulana did not ask me anything. He then prayed dua and left. When questioned as to why he did not ask me, he said it was not necessary to ask me as my presence was acceptance enough? Is this nikah valid? I am being told from many sources that this is not valid as I was not asked directly?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer

For a marriage to be valid the condition is that there should be at least two male witnesses or one male and two female witnesses who are required to listen to the words of the proposal (Ijab) and acceptance (qabul) clearly. (Hidayah p.306 v.2)

The offer and acceptance are fundamental for a valid marriage. They must be communicated verbally and not written and that each one of the two parties hears the statement of offer and acceptance. (Fathul Qadir p.190 v.3)

From the aforementioned information we can derive that if the Imam did not ask you directly either the offer or acceptance, your Nikah would not be considered valid.

Only Allah Knows Best

Written by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham