Fatwa ID: 04879

Answered by: Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question

I want to know that can marriage in Islam is possible without uttering” Kabool, Kabool, Kabool” from the mouth? Though the couple accepted each other in front of three Muslim witnesses by signing the nikah nama followed by a court marriage.

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 merely writing the offer and acceptance when both parties are in front of each other would not be valid.

Regarding your last part of the question where you said: “the couple accepted each other in front of three Muslim witnesses”. If by acceptance you mean the couple verbally said the offer and acceptance then the marriage done in the courts would be considered valid.

Only Allah Knows Best

Written by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham