Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hasan narrates that once a man secretly married a woman, and he used to visit her house. On one occasion, a neighbor of the woman saw the man coming to her house and accused him (of wrongdoing). They brought this dispute before Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). The accusing neighbor said, "O Commander of the Faithful! This man comes to my neighbor's house, and I have no knowledge of their marriage." Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) inquired about the man's statement, and he said, "I have secretly married this woman." Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked about witnesses, and he replied, "Some relatives of the woman are witnesses to this marriage." Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not enforce the prescribed punishment on the accuser, but he said to them, "Make marriages public and keep your private parts chaste."

Hazrat Hisham says that my father used to say that a secret marriage is not good.

Hazrat Nafi' states that there is no secret marriage in Islam.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Utbah says that the worst marriage is the secret marriage.