Fatwa ID: 08448

 

 

Answered by: Maulana Ateiq-ur Rehman

 

Question:

 

This is going to be little long but please bear with me, I have no where to go except the online platform, especially for me being Hanafi. This question is related to validity of my Nikah but first I want to give a little context about my condition. I have OCD, in this condition I start having doubts (waswase) about everything, especially related to religious matters. I get confused while doing ghusal, wazu, rakat of namaz and now I am having distress thoughts about my Nikah.

 

I recently met a lady and we decided to do Nikah online without involving our parents because right now it wasn’t possible to involve because we are still studying and from different countries. However we also didn’t want to indulge in more sins so we did nikkah by hiring a law firm from Muslim country. We are Hanafi and I did confirm from the law firm about madhab of Nikah khawa and witnesses and they told they all are also Hanafi.

 

Now comes to my doubts I am having. We did Nikah by using “Google meet app” where myself, my wife, qazi (Nikah khawa) and two witnesses were present (total 5 people).

First doubt I am having is about the presence of second witness. I don’t know why I am having doubts about it. So thing is he was already available in the video call before I joined the call. But he was silent like his video and audio was on mute (like how we mostly do in general routine while listening to others/presenter/teacher/scholar on group video calls), however at the end of Nikah ceremony he opened his audio and congratulated me.

 

To be honest this congratulating me should be enough for any normal person to clear all doubts that, indeed he was available in the call during “hijab o qabool time” as well but my brain is telling me what if he was not available all the time, he started doing some other work after joining the call and then came just before the ending of ceremony. Tell me am I right in thinking this or it is just overthinking/waswasa? Or his giving me congratulations on my nikkah should be enough to testify that he was indeed witnessing the whole ceremony?

 

I did ask after the nikkah to the main guy of law firm with whom I was dealing, are you sure the second witness was indeed available in the ceremony and he said yes he was available and I am just overthinking. Then I tired to clam to my brain by telling it even  suppose if the second witness was not available all the time in nikkah ceremony, we can consider the qazi/Nikah khawa itself the second witness, right? Because as far as I know Nikah khawa/qazi can be considered witness if he is not acting as “vakeel” of any party.

 

Now here comes another doubt in my brain and that is before the Nikah ceremony, I was thinking first they would appoint someone as vakeel of my wife in the Nikah ceremony and then he would do qabool o hijab on behalf of my wife with me. I told the same to my wife to prepare her. In short we were expecting in the starting of nikkah ceremony that this nikkah khawa is going to be her vakeel.

But when nikkah started, nothing like that happened. Nikkah khawa simply confirmed the details from me and my wife, recited the kalmas and then started hijab o qabool. In short nikkah khawa himself and the witnesses were sure since starting that no one is acting here as vakeel of anyone. Later after ceremony I did ask from them why there was no vakeel, and they told me, there was no need of appointing anyone vakeel and it’s our daily routine work.

 

So what I have concluded is just merely our thinking (me and my wife before the ceremony) that this person is “probably” going to be vakeel doesn’t make anyone vakeel as long as other person didn’t ask permission from my wife to be her vakeel and he was just nikkah khawa, because this was what he was thinking about himself and acting in only that capacity, and hence he could also be considered a legit witness, right? So kindly first assure me in yes or no about validity of our nikkah and secondly about my doubts of capacity of nikkah khawa and second witness presence.

 

 

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

 

Answer:

 

According to the Ḥanafi madhab, the essential conditions of a valid nikaḥ are: Ijaab (offer) and Qabul (acceptance) between the bride and groom in the same sitting, in the presence of two sane, Muslim, adult male witnesses, or one male and two females. All parties (bride, groom, witnesses, and Nikah Khwan) should hear the Ijaab and Qabul, there should be no coercion, and both parties must be competent (mature and sane).

From what you have described:

You and your wife were both present (online),

There was a clear Ijaab and Qabul,

There were two male witnesses who confirmed the nikaḥ,

The Nikaḥ Khwan was not a wakil, rather, he facilitated the nikaḥ and likely acted as one of the two witnesses.

The second witness congratulated you, clearly showing that he was present and aware of the event.

Therefore, your Nikah fulfils all the conditions of validity in the Ḥanafi madhhab, and you are Islamically married.

 

 

References:

 

(الْبَابُ الرَّابِعُ فِي الْأَوْلِيَاءِ) تَثْبُتُ الْوِلَايَةُ بِأَسْبَابٍ أَرْبَعَةٍ بِالْقَرَابَةِ وَالْوَلَاءِ وَالْإِمَامَةِ وَالْمِلْكِ، كَذَا فِي الْبَحْرِ الرَّائِقِ. وَأَقْرَبُ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ إلَى الْمَرْأَةِ الِابْنُ ثُمَّ ابْنُ الِابْنِ، وَإِنْ سَفَلَ ثُمَّ الْأَبُ ثُمَّ الْجَدُّ أَبُو الْأَبِ، وَإِنْ عَلَا، كَذَا فِي الْمُحِيطِ. فَإِذَا كَانَ لِلْمَجْنُونَةِ أَبٌ وَابْنٌ أَوْ جَدٌّ وَابْنٌ؛ فَالْوِلَايَةُ لِلِابْنِ عِنْدَهُمَا وَعِنْدَ مُحَمَّدٍ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى – لِلْأَبِ، كَذَا فِي السِّرَاجِ الْوَهَّاجِ

كتاب الفتاوى العالمكيرية = الفتاوى الهندية1:283

نفذ نكاح حرّةٍ مكلّفةٍ بلا وليٍّ

ولا تجبر بكرٌ بالغةٌ على النّكاح

فإن استأذنها الوليّ فسكتت أو ضحكت أو زوّجها فبلغها الخبر فسكتت فهو إذنٌ

وإن استأذنها غير الوليّ فلا بدّ من القول كالثّيّب

كتاب كنز الدقائق p254

قال: ” النكاح ينعقد بالإيجاب والقبول بلفظين يعبر بهما عن الماضي ” لأن الصيغة وإن كانت للإخبار وضعا فقد جعلت للإنشاء شرعا دفعا للحاجة ” وينعقد بلفظين يعبر بأحدهما عن الماضي وبالآخر عن المستقبل مثل أن يقول زوجني فيقول زوجتك ” لأن هذا توكيل بالنكاح والواحد يتولى طرفي النكاح على ما نبينه إن شاء الله تعالى ” وينعقد بلفظ النكاح والتزويج والهبة والتمليك والصدقة ” وقال الشافعي رحمه الله لا ينعقد إلا بلفظ النكاح والتزويج لأن التمليك ليس حقيقة فيه ولا مجازا عنه لأن الترويج للتلفيق والنكاح للضم ولا ضم ولا ازدواج بين المالك والمملوكة أصلا.

ولنا أن التمليك سبب لملك المتعة في محلها بواسطة ملك الرقبة وهو الثابت بالنكاح والسببية طريق المجاز ” وينعقد بلفظ البيع ” هو الصحيح لوجود طريق المجاز ” ولا ينعقد بلفظ الإجارة ” في الصحيح لأنه ليس بسبب لملك المتعة ” و ” لا بلفظ ” الإباحة والإحلال والإعارة ” لما قلنا ” و ” لا بلفظ ” الوصية ” لأنها توجب الملك مضافا إلى ما بعد الموت.

قال: ” ولا ينعقد نكاح المسلمين إلا بحضور شاهدين حرين عاقلين بالغين مسلمين رجلين أو رجل وامرأتين عدولا كانوا أو غير عدول أو محدودين في القذف ” قال رضي الله عنه اعلم أن الشهادة شرط في باب النكاح لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام ” لا نكاح إلا بشهود ” وهو حجة على مالك رحمه الله في اشتراط الإعلان دون الشهادة ولا بد من اعتبار الحرية فيها لأن العبد لا شهادة له لعدم الولاية ولا بد من اعتبار العقل والبلوغ لأنه لا ولاية بدونهما ولا بد من اعتبار الإسلام في أنكحة المسلمين لأنه لا شهادة للكافر على المسلم ولا يشترط وصف الذكورة حتى ينعقد بحضور رجل وامرأتين وفيه خلاف الشافعي رحمه الله وستعرف في الشهادات إن شاء الله تعالى ولا تشترط العدالة حتى ينعقد بحضرة الفاسقين عندنا خلافا للشافعي رحمه الله له أن الشهادة من باب الكرامة والفاسق من أهل الإهانة.

ولنا أنه من أهل الولاية فيكون من أهل الشهادة وهذا لأنه لما لم يحرم الولاية على نفسه لإسلامه لا يحرم على غيره لأنه من جنسه ولأنه صلح مقلدا فيصلح مقلدا، وكذا

كتاب الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي 1:185

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Maulana Ateiq-ur Rehman

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham