Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Nikāḥ ke Masāʾil, Volume 1, Page 313
My first wife is still alive. I secretly married a widow. At the time of nikāḥ, only two witnesses were present—one man and one woman. After the marriage, I also paid the dowry, but according to the law of Pakistan, this marriage was not registered in any official record. Is this nikāḥ valid or not?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Question:
My first wife is still alive. I secretly married a widow. At the time of nikāḥ, only two witnesses were present—one man and one woman. After the marriage, I also paid the dowry, but according to the law of Pakistan, this marriage was not registered in any official record. Is this nikāḥ valid or not?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
- If, at the time of nikāḥ, the required witnesses (according to Sharʿī standards) were present, and the woman’s walī (guardian) himself conducted the nikāḥ or gave his consent for the marriage, then the nikāḥ is valid and permissible.
- However, if the consent or permission of the woman’s walī was not involved, then such a nikāḥ is not valid.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
