❖ Extracted from Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri ❖
✿ Is Financial Maintenance (Nafaqah) Obligatory in a Void (Bāṭil) Marriage? ✿
The Ruling:
A void (bāṭil) marriage is considered non-existent in Sharīʿah, therefore no financial maintenance (nafaqah) is due in such a marriage.
However, if consummation (dukhūl) has taken place, then mahr (dower) becomes obligatory upon the man.
Hadith Evidence:
❀ Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"أيما امرأة نكحت بغير إذن وليها فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فإن دخل بها فلها المهر بما استحل من فرجها، فإن استجروا فالسلطان ولي من لا ولي له."
“Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is void, her marriage is void, her marriage is void. If he (the husband) has had sexual relations with her, she is entitled to the dower in return for making her private part lawful. If the guardians disagree, then the ruler is the guardian of the one who has no guardian.”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2083, Musnad Aḥmad: 6/165, Sunan at-Tirmidhī: 1102(Authentic chain – Hasan)
◈ Summary:
① A bāṭil marriage has no legal standing, so no maintenance is due.
② If dukhūl (intercourse) has occurred, the woman is entitled to mahr.
③ The presence and consent of a guardian (walī) is essential for a valid nikāḥ.
④ In absence of a guardian, the Islamic authority (sulṭān or qāḍī) becomes the guardian.
