Excerpt taken from Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani’s book: "Ahkām wa Masā’il – In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah"❖ Question:
Is it necessary during the marriage contract (nikāḥ) to explicitly ask the groom, “Do you accept?” or “Are you pleased with this marriage?”
Or is it sufficient for the guardian (walī) to simply say, “I give this woman to you in marriage for such and such mahr (dowry)”?
Please clarify in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
❖ Answer:
Sayyidunā Sahl ibn Saʿd رضي الله عنه narrates:
A woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said:
"O Messenger of Allah, I have come to offer myself to you (in marriage)."
The Prophet ﷺ looked at her, raising his gaze and then lowering it. When he saw that he was not inclined toward her, she sat down.
One of the Companions stood and said:
“O Messenger of Allah, if you have no need of her, then marry her to me.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Do you have anything [to offer as mahr]?"
He replied: “By Allah, no, O Messenger of Allah!”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Go and look in your house, perhaps you’ll find something."
He went and returned, saying:
“I swear by Allah, I found nothing.”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Look again, even if it is just an iron ring."
He went again and returned, saying:
“Not even an iron ring, O Messenger of Allah. But I have this lower garment (izār).”
Sahl رضي الله عنه said:
“He had no second garment.”
So he added:
“I will give her half of my izār.”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
"What will she do with it? If you wear it, she will be left with nothing; and if she wears it, you will be left with nothing."
That Companion sat down. Later, as the gathering dispersed, the Prophet ﷺ saw him leaving. He ﷺ ordered for him to be called back and asked:
"How much of the Qur’an do you have memorized?"
He said:
“Such and such sūrahs,” and began listing them.
The Prophet ﷺ asked:
"Can you recite them from memory?"
He said: “Yes.”
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
"I marry her to you for what you have of the Qur’an."
[Sahih al-Bukhārī, Kitāb an-Nikāḥ, Bāb al-Nadhar ilā al-Marʾah Qabla at-Tazwīj (ḥadīth 5126, 5141);
Sahih Muslim: ḥadīth 1425;
al-Muttaqī al-Hindī in Ibn al-Jārūd: ḥadīth 1716;
Ibn Mājah: ḥadīth 1889]
❖ The Understanding of Imām al-Bukhārī
Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله established a chapter heading under this ḥadīth stating:
"If a suitor says to the guardian, ‘Marry me to so-and-so,’ and the guardian says, ‘I have married her to you for such and such mahr,’ then the marriage is valid — even if the man does not explicitly say, ‘I accept’ or ‘I am pleased.’"
❖ Conclusion:
From this ḥadīth and its explanation, the following ruling is understood:
- A man's proposal for marriage or his presence with intention to marry serves as an implicit acceptance of the contract.
- Therefore, explicit verbal acceptance from the groom (like saying "I accept" or "I am pleased") is not a condition for the validity of the nikāḥ, though it is commonly practiced.
- This is comparable to a contract of sale, where if a buyer says, "Sell me this item for 100 rupees," and the seller says, "I have sold it," the sale is valid even without the buyer saying “I accept.”
