The lawful way of coming together is called Nikah (marriage). In Islam, Nikah holds great importance; through it, the human race has progressed and continues to progress, and it is a means of completing the faith of a believer and a Muslim. Its main purpose is the protection of chastity and modesty. It is the most essential need of human life and a rare gift from Allah to His servants. All the Prophets, from the first to the last, got married and conveyed the message of marriage to their respective communities so that humans protect their honor and dignity and fulfill their desires in a lawful manner. Allah Almighty has mentioned in the Quran:
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلاً مِّن قَبْلِكَ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَذُرِّيَّةً (الرعد:38)
Translation: We have sent many messengers before you, and We gave them wives and children.
This era is very challenging; parents should arrange a good religious match for their children as soon as they reach maturity and get them married. While commanding marriage, Allah said in the Quran:
وَأَنكِحُوا الأَيَامَى مِنكُمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَائِكُمْ إِن يَكُونُوا فُقَرَاء يُغْنِهِمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ(النور:32)
Translation: Marry off the unmarried among you, and the righteous among your male and female slaves. If they are poor, Allah will enrich them from His bounty. Allah is All-Encompassing and Knowing.
The Noble Prophet ﷺ also said:
يَا مَعْشَرَ الشَّبَابِ مَنْ اسْتَطَاعَ منكُم الْبَاءَةَ فَلْيَتَزَوَّجْ ، فَإِنَّهُ أَغَضُّ لِلْبَصَرِ ، وَأَحْصَنُ لِلْفَرْجِ ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَيْهِ بِالصَّوْمِ فَإِنَّهُ لَهُ وِجَاءٌ(صحیح البخاري:5066و صحیح مسلم :1400)
Translation: O young people! Whoever among you has the means, let him marry, for it restrains the gaze and preserves chastity. And whoever cannot afford it, let him fast, for fasting is a shield for him.
Here, I will not discuss the issues of Nikah but will explain how Nikah is conducted, and what is the example and model of the Prophet ﷺ in conducting Nikah?
As great a divine commandment as Nikah is, its solemnization is equally simple. However, people have complicated it with customs and traditions, making it very different from the Islamic way. I present a Hadith to give an idea of what Nikah is and how it is done. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا خطبَ إليكم مَن ترضَونَ دينَه وخلقَه ، فزوِّجوهُ إلَّا تفعلوا تَكن فتنةٌ في الأرضِ وفسادٌ عريضٌ(صحيح الترمذي:1084)
Translation: If a man comes to you proposing marriage whose religion and character satisfy you, then marry your women to him. If you do not do so, there will be great corruption and turmoil on earth.
This explains the method of Nikah: a man sends a marriage proposal to the father or guardian of a girl, and if the girl’s father finds the man’s religion and character satisfactory, he marries the girl to him. That is, the guardian says to the man, “I marry my daughter to you; do you accept?” The man replies, “Yes, I accept.” The marriage is done. This is the Islamic way of marriage, which involves no gathering, no customs or traditions, and no artificiality. Whoever does not marry in this way causes fitnah (discord). Today, much fitnah and corruption on earth is also due to abandoning the Sunnah of marriage and adopting the ways of others, to the extent that Muslim boys are marrying non-Muslim girls and Muslim girls are marrying non-Muslim boys by imitating film stars. May Allah protect us.
Among Muslim marriages, there is a mixture of caste and community, color and race, beauty and wealth, customs and traditions, show and pretense, formality and artificiality, innovations and evils, whereas marriages in the time of the Prophet ﷺ were very simple and ordinary. A proposal came from one side, acceptance from the other, and the marriage was done. See the marriage of Abdul Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him). It is narrated in Sahih Bukhari. Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
أنَّ النبيَّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ رأى عبدَ الرحمنِ بنِ عوفٍ أثرَ صُفرةٍ، قال :ما هذا؟ . قال : إني تزوجت امرأةً على وزنِ نواةٍ من ذهبٍ، قال :بارك لك اللهُ، أولمْ ولو بشاةٍ .(صحيح البخاري:5155)
Translation: The Prophet ﷺ saw a yellow mark on Abdul Rahman bin Awf and asked what it was. He said, “I have married a woman with a dowry equal to the weight of a date stone in gold.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “May Allah bless you; hold a Walimah (wedding feast), even if it is only a goat.”
In this marriage, Abdul Rahman did not invite the Imam of the universe, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, even though both were in the same place. How simple this marriage must have been! The Prophet ﷺ was on the expedition of Khyber when the daughter of the chief of Banu Nadir, Safiyyah, came among the spoils of war. The marriage of the Prophet ﷺ with her is mentioned briefly. Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
أنَّ رسولَ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ أعتَقَ صفيَّةَ وتزوَّجَهَا وجعَلَ عِتْقَهَا صدَاقَهَا ، وأولمَ عليها بِحَيْسٍ(صحيح البخاري:5169)
Translation: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ freed Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) and then married her, considering her freedom as her dowry, and held the Walimah from Mulaidah.
In Sahih Bukhari, the marriage of a woman conducted by the Prophet ﷺ is mentioned as follows:
جاءت امرأة إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت : إني وهبت منك نفسي . فقامت طويلا ، فقال رجل : زوجنيها إن لم تكن لك بها حاجة ، قال : ( هل عندك من شيء تصدقها ) قال : ما عندي إلا إزاري ، فقال : ( إن أعطيتها إياه جلست لا إزار لك ، فالتمس شيئا ) . فقال ما أجد شيئا ، فقال : ( التمس ولو خاتما من حديد ) . فلم يجد ، فقال : ( أمعك من القرآن شيء ) . قال : نعم ، سورة كذا ، سورة كذا ، لسور سماها ، فقال : ( زوجناكها بما معك من القرأن ) .
Translation: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “I give myself as a gift to you.” She stood for a long time. Then a man said, “If the Prophet ﷺ does not need her, then marry her to me.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Do you have anything to give her as dowry?” He said, “I have nothing except my waist wrapper.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “If you give her your waist wrapper, you will have nothing to wear. Find something else.” The man said, “I have nothing else.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Find something, even an iron ring!” When he could not find anything, the Prophet ﷺ asked, “Do you have anything from the Quran?” He said, “Yes, I know such and such Surahs,” naming them. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Then we have married you to this woman in exchange for the Surahs you know.”
The summary of all the Ahadith related to Nikah is that Nikah is simply the offer and acceptance; there is no need for a Qazi or Imam, no need for a ceremony, no concept of baraat or dowry, and no need for any customs or traditions. Below, I will briefly mention how to conduct Nikah so that it is easy for the Nikah officiant and is done in the Sunnah way.
Before Nikah, the marriage proposal has already come, and the parties have agreed through engagement. Now, the groom’s side gathers in a mosque, madrasa, or a house, where the bride’s guardian (or if the guardian is not present, a representative with his consent) and her relatives are also present. How to solemnize the marriage contract between the boy and the girl in a Sunnah manner?
First Point:
The custom of baraat (wedding procession) is incorrect, but it is recommended for some people to gather at the time of the marriage ceremony so that the marriage announcement is made, which the Prophet ﷺ has commanded.
أعلِنوا هذا النِّكاحَ واضرِبوا عليْهِ بالغربالِ(صحيح ابن ماجه:1549)
Translation: Announce this marriage and play the daf (tambourine) on this occasion.
* Sheikh Albani has only authenticated the first part of this hadith.
Second Point:
At present, there is a great need for a marriage contract at the social and governmental level, therefore the Qazi (judge) who is invited to conduct the marriage should complete the marriage contract and other paperwork.
Third Point:
It is better if the dowry (mehr) is fixed and also written down so that there is no dispute later between the spouses or their families, and there is evidence for fixing the dowry. Allah says:
وَإِن طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ(البقرة:237)
Translation: And if you divorce women before you have touched them but have already fixed a dowry, then half of the dowry must be given.
Fourth Point:
The consent of the girl’s guardian must be obtained, and he should be present there or have an attorney present with his consent, because without the guardian, no marriage will take place.
The Prophet ﷺ said: لا نِكاحَ إلَّا بوليٍّ(صحیح ابن ماجہ :1537)
Translation: There is no marriage without a guardian.
Similarly, the Prophet also said: أيُّما امرأةٍ نَكَحَت بغيرِ إذنِ مَواليها ، فنِكاحُها باطلٌ ، ثلاثَ مرَّاتٍ۔ (Sahih Abu Dawood: 2083)
Translation: Whichever woman marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is invalid. The Prophet ﷺ said this three times.
Fifth Point:
Two just witnesses are also required at the time of Nikah, which is evident from Allah’s command.
فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ فَارِقُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ (الطلاق:2)
Translation: So when they have fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or part with them according to acceptable terms, and take two just persons as witnesses from among you.
There is no authentic Marfoo’ Hadith with this meaning, but a Mawkuf Hadith is authentic. Sheikh Albani has declared the Mawkuf narrations from Hazrat Aisha, Hazrat Abu Huraira, Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah, Hazrat Abu Musa Ash’ari, and Hazrat Hasan as authentic.
لا نكاحَ إلا بوليٍّ وشاهدَينِ(إرواء الغليل:1858)
Translation: There will be no Nikah without a guardian and two witnesses.
*It should also be clear here that a guardian cannot be a witness.
Sixth point:
After completing the aforementioned tasks, the Qazi should now address the people and recite the prescribed sermon known as Khutbah al-Hajah. It should be noted that reciting Khutbah al-Hajah is not obligatory; the marriage contract can be concluded solely through offer and acceptance without it. However, its recitation is recommended. The exact words of Khutbah al-Hajah, as authentically transmitted by Sheikh Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, from the Prophet ﷺ, are as follows:
إن الحمد لله نحمده ، و نستعينه ، ونستغفره ، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ، ومن سيئات أعمالنا .من يهده الله فلا مضل له ، ومن يضلل فلا هادي له ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له .وأ شهد أ ن محمداً عبدُه و رسولُه .يَاأَيها الذين آ مَنُوا اتقُوا اللهَ حَق تُقَا ته ولاتموتن إلا وأنتم مُسلمُون,يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَتَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيباً, يَا أ يها الذين آ منوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قَو لاً سَديداً يُصلح لَكُم أَ عما لكم وَ يَغفر لَكُم ذُ نُو بَكُم وَ مَن يُطع الله وَ رَسُولَهُ فَقَد فَازَ فَوزاً عَظيماً[ أ ما بعد ]
Seventh Point:
If there is a large gathering, then a brief explanation of the three verses mentioned later in the sermon can be given without any harm. However, considering a speech or address necessary after the sermon, or calling the person conducting the marriage to give a powerful speech, has no basis in the Sunnah. There is no evidence from the time of the Prophet regarding giving a speech at the time of marriage. Reading Quranic verses and Hadiths from one’s own side during the sermon is also an excess on the part of the marriage officiant, for which there is no proof.
Eighth point: After reciting the prescribed sermon, the Imam/Qazi (whom the girl’s guardian has appointed as his agent) should say to the boy, “I marry you to so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, on my agency. Do you accept?” The boy should say, “I accept.” The marriage is then complete. Mentioning the dowry in the offer and acceptance is not necessary; agreeing upon it is sufficient.
Ninth point: In some places, the Qazi also goes to the girl to obtain her consent, but this is not necessary. The girl’s consent is required from her guardian, which is already given at the time of engagement. Then the guardian expresses the girl’s consent for the marriage. At the time of engagement, if desired, the boy may see the girl; there is evidence for this in the Sunnah.
Tenth point: Yes, if the marriage was initially done on a form, signatures of the spouses should be taken on it. The guardian or a mahram of the girl should go to her to get her signature.
Every person conducting the marriage, guardian, groom, and bride should know the pillars and conditions of marriage; in fact, every Muslim needs to know them.
There are two pillars of Nikah (marriage).
(1) The existence of the spouses and the permissibility of their marriage to each other, meaning there should be no impediment such as breastfeeding (rada’ah), lineage, iddah, pregnancy, etc.
(2) The offer (Ijab) from the guardian or his representative, specifying the marriage to a certain person, and the acceptance (Qubool) from the groom.
There are also two conditions for Nikah.
One is the permission and consent of the guardian, and the other is the presence of two just witnesses. Announcing the Nikah is not necessary but recommended. If the two pillars and two conditions are fulfilled, the Nikah is valid.
It is not established to pray collectively after the Nikah; rather, the bride and groom should be congratulated individually. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that when the Prophet ﷺ congratulated someone on their marriage, he would say: «بارك الله لك وبارك عليك وجمع بينكما في خير» (May Allah bless you, bless upon you, and unite you both in goodness).
The groom should hold a Walimah (wedding feast) after the bride’s departure. Regarding Walimah, there is a hadith of Abdul Rahman رضي الله عنه’s marriage in which the Prophet ﷺ said to hold a Walimah even if it is with just one goat.
Further Clarifications on Matters Related to Marriage
(1) There is no need to call a scholar or judge from elsewhere to conduct the marriage. The girl’s guardian says to the boy, “I marry you to so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so,” and the boy says, “I accept.” The marriage is done. If there is a scholar in the village, there is no harm in having the marriage conducted by them.
(2) It is not proven from the Sunnah to make the boy or girl recite the Kalima, repent, or explain the brief or detailed faith at the time of marriage; this is a new innovation in religion.
(3) It is wrong to consider it necessary to say Arabic words like “zawwajt,” “nakahtu,” “qabiltu” for the marriage contract; offer and acceptance can be in any language.
(4) It is not necessary to repeat offer and acceptance three times; once is sufficient.
(5) Distributing dates after the marriage is neither the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ nor of his companions; it is merely a custom and it is better to remove it because it often causes disputes in many places. The narration in Al-Bayhaqi has been declared fabricated by Sheikh Al-Albani: كان إذا زوَّج أو تزوَّج نثَر تمرًا.
Translation: When the Prophet ﷺ married or arranged a marriage, he distributed dates.
(6) After the marriage, calling the groom and his close ones to the courtyard or yard and having unrelated girls joke, steal, use indecent speech and actions with them is forbidden and sinful. The sin will be upon all those present who see, hear, and assist.
(7) The dowry (mahr) is neither among the pillars of marriage nor among its conditions. If the dowry is not fixed at the time of marriage, the marriage is still valid, but after the marriage, the dowry becomes obligatory like a debt.
(8) It is not correct to consider marriage in the mosque as Sunnah because the narration related to marriage in the mosque is weak. Marriage can be conducted in the mosque or anywhere else.
(9) Marriage will be valid with the presence of only four people: the guardian, the boy, and two just witnesses. However, if more people gather, the marriage will be announced, but the concept of a customary wedding procession (baraat) is not in Islam and should be avoided.
(10) If the above-mentioned pillars and conditions of marriage are fulfilled, then marriage is valid even over the telephone. However, abducting the girl, putting garlands or rings on each other, registering in court, or having a marriage officiant conduct the marriage in a park or on a swing will not constitute a valid marriage unless the girl’s guardian consents.
