Marriage in Islam


In Islamic law, marriage involves nikah the agreement to the marriage contract, or more specifically, the bride's acceptance of the groom's dower, and the witnessing of her acceptance. In addition, there are several other traditional steps such as khitbah, walimah, zifaf/''rukhsati .
In addition to the requirement that a formal, binding contract – either oral or on paper – of rights and obligations for both parties be drawn up, there are a number of other rules for marriage in Islam: among them that there be witnesses to the marriage, a gift from the groom to the bride known as a mahr, that both the groom and the bride freely consent to the marriage; that the groom can be married to more than one woman but no more than four, that the women can be married to no more than one man, developed from the Quran, and hadith. Divorce is permitted in Islam and can take a variety of forms, some executed by a husband personally and some executed by a religious court on behalf of a plaintiff wife who is successful in her legal divorce petition for valid cause.
In addition to the usual marriage intended for raising families, the Twelver branch of Shia Islam permits or "temporary", fixed-term marriage; and some Sunni Islamic scholars permit nikah misyar marriage, which lacks some conditions such as living together. A nikah 'urfi'', "customary" marriage, is one not officially registered with state authorities.
Traditional marriage in Islam has been criticized and defended for allowing polygamy and easy divorce.

Terminology

In the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, nikah is defined as "marriage; marriage contract; matrimony, wedlock". In the Quran, nikah is used to refer to the contract of marriage. According to at least a couple of sources -- Ibrahim B. Syed and the Ahlan Foundation -- the Quran also uses "a strong agreement", in verse Q.4:21, to refer to marriage.
In Arabic-speaking countries, marriage is commonly called zawāj, and this term has recently gained currency among Muslim speakers of other languages as well.
The marriage contract is known by different names:
  • ʿaqd al-qirān Literary Arabic: عقد القران ', "matrimony contract";
  • ' / ALA-LC;
  • akd, ;
  • ezdevāj, ezdevāj "marriage" and سند ازدواج or sǎnǎde ezdevāj عقدنامه aqd nāmeh for the certificate.
The marriage celebration may be called
  • ʿurs / zawāj,
  • ezdewaj/arusi,
  • shaadi,
  • biye/biya
  • düğün.

    History

Before Islam

In Arabia before the advent of Islam in the 7th century CE, a variety of different marriage practices existed. The most common and recognized types of marriage at this time were marriage by agreement, marriage by capture, marriage by mahr, marriage by inheritance, and mot'a or temporary marriage. In Mesopotamia, marriages were generally monogamous, except among male royalty, who would have harems consisting of wives and concubines. The Sasanian society followed Zoroastrianism, which viewed women to be possessions in marriage, although consent was required in both marriage and divorce.
According to Islamic sources, most women in the pre-7th century Arabia had little control over their marriages and Islam brought a big improvement. They were bound by contract for marriage or custody of children, and their consent was rarely sought. Women were seldom allowed to divorce their husbands, and their view was not regarded for either a marriage or divorce. However, in the transitional age from non-Islamic to Islamic society, elite women could divorce and remarry without stigma. They were given the power to negotiate the terms of their marriage contract and could even initiate divorce.

Reforms with Islam

During Muhammad's prophethood several chapters and verses from the Quran were revealed which banned common marriage practices that existed prior to that time. The rules of "marriage by agreement " were reformed by Muhammad, and strict rules and regulations were set. The practice of "marriage by inheritance" was forbidden.
Under the Arabian Jahiliyyah law, Islamic sources write that no limitations were set on men's rights to marry or to obtain a divorce. Islamic law limited men to four wives at one time, not including slave concubines. Additionally, a man was required to provide a suitable marriage gift for each wife and ensure financial support and separate housing for all. As a result, only wealthy men could historically afford to practice polygyny. The institution of marriage was refined into one in which the woman was somewhat of an interested partner. 'For example, the dower, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property'. Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract". The essential elements of the marriage contract were now an offer by the man, an acceptance by the woman, and the performance of such conditions as the payment of dowry. The woman's consent, given either actively or by silence, was required. Furthermore, the offer and acceptance had to be made in the presence of at least two witnesses.

Encouragement

As in many if not all religions, marriage is encouraged in Islam.
  • Verses from the Quran, indicate positive feelings towards marriage: "marry those among you who are single...", "...Bless us with ˹pious˺ spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts...", "...He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them...", "The love of the desires for women, sons,... has been made attractive to people."
  • There are hadith calling for Muslims to marry
  • *as a religious duty: “When a man marries he has fulfilled half of the religion;...”, “Marriage is part of my sunnah, and whoever does not follow my sunnah has nothing to do with me"
  • *as part of the religion of the fitrah, "consistent with the natural instincts and needs of mankind", opposing "the monastic life of Christians”, ; the "unnatural constraints" such as celibacy
  • *to increase the number of Muslims: “Marry those who are loving and fertile, for I will be proud of your great numbers before the other nations."
  • *to fight the temptations of illicit sex, "Whoever among you can marry, should marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty,....'", “Whoever has the means, let him get married, and whoever does not, then he should fast for it will diminish his desire".
  • Other revelation are less concerned about lack of money for a mahr, assuring Muslims God will "... will make them free from want... "
  • Or that they should marry even if they have few resources: "Marry, even with an iron ring."
According to scholars, marriage in Islam provides a structure for the relationship between partners creating a family, and safeguards rights of members of the family.
Marrying within the Muslim community and creating a “productive and constructive" family where members help and encourage one and other to "be good and righteous", helps to preserve the religion.
Family life in Islam, finding a partner to share life's joys and sorrows, is considered a "blessing", a source of stability, the foundation for families. By regulating sexual desire marriage prevents it from destabilizing the community, in the eyes of religious scholars of Islamic law. In a patrilineal society, where a person's social status is defined by their father's lineage, marriage was a crucial institution for controlling reproduction and ensuring that children were properly recognized and claimed.
According to scholars of fiqh, marriage is either obligatory or preferred if a man has the means to marry, and has no fear of mistreating his wife. If a man fears committing unlawful acts if he does not marry, marriage then become obligatory; if he does not fear this it is only preferred.

Conditions

There are several conditions for an Islamic marriage to take place:

Marriage contract

Islamic marriage is based on a contract between man and wife.

Mahr

All Islamic marriage contracts include a ,, a mandatory sum of wealth provided to the bride by the groom which should be agreed upon before the nikah, and paid to the bride by the groom at the time of nikah unless they have agreed to delay the time of some of its payment. The mahr is for her exclusive use. If the marriage contract fails to contain an exact, specified mahr, the husband must still pay the wife a judicially determined sum. Mahr functions similar to bride wealth. The mahr is important for the wife in case of divorce. There is no joint marital property in an Islamic marriage. Other conditions may be included in the contract, such as whether the husband taking a second, third, etc. wife, is grounds for divorce.

Consent of bride

Whether the bride must give her consent to marry and how she does, varies according to school of jurisprudence, whether the bride is a virgin, or a minor.
  • The Shafi'i school of jurisprudence do allow compulsion in marriage if the daughter is a virgin and is for her benefit. Shafi'i recommends strongly that daughters who are no longer minors be consulted before being married to someone. Spoken consent of the bride is only required if she is not a virgin and her is neither her father nor her paternal grandfather. According to Al-Masaa’il Al-Maardeeniyyah, by Ibn Taymiyyah. Malak was one of the scholars who ruled that a father may force his virgin daughter who attained puberty to marry.
  • the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools of jurisprudence require the prospective bride's consent if she has reached the age of puberty, but if she is a minor she may be married off without her permission.
  • According to Shi'i mujtahid and marja' Khomeini and Ali al-Sistani, the marriage is invalid without the bride's free consent and no obligation can make marriage official and legal.