Question 1
Assalam alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa baraktuh. I have met a practicing man I wish to marry. We have been trying to get his parents to agree for almost nine months now, and alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah Most High, they have finally started to come to terms with it. His mother has called my mom. Their only concern is that nothing should happen until we both graduate, which is what my parents want as well.
The issue is that he graduates in three years, and keeping ourselves free of sin is really tough. We were wondering if it was possible to sign a nikah without telling our parents, just to free ourselves from further haram, as the desires we have are very great. We would not let anyone else know (aside from the ones performing the nikah), and we would let our parents take their time in getting to know one another while we finish school, while secretly married. Please advise us on what to do. We were hoping to follow Hanafi fiqh in this regard due to the lack of wali needed in some cases. Jazak Allah khayr.
Answer 1
Question 2
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. My family and I live in America, and I was born here as well. Four years ago, my family got me engaged to a good Muslim man, and I am also a good Muslim. It has been four years, and my fiancé wants to get married, but my family just doesn’t want me to get married yet. They want me to wait at least another 3-4 years. My fiancé wants to do a Nikah because if we go out and talk, we are sinful and it is gunaah. My family is not listening to us and is not giving us permission to get married. What should I do? Is a secret Nikah permissible?
Answer 2
Question 3
Imam, please help my query for Allah’s sake. I intend to marry a previously divorced lady, mother of two, in the most simplistic manner. I intend to take two of my Muslim friends and make sure my wife-to-be is in modest covering. We are both Hanafi. I intend to say, “I offer to nikah you. Do you accept the nikah?” and she will say, “Yes, I accept.” Will this simple proposal and response suffice to make the nikah valid? I will give her the appropriate dowry immediately following and preceding conjugation. Please comment on the validity of the nikah, Imam. I will be very, very grateful to your efforts.
Answer 3
Question 4
Assalamu Alaikum.I and my boyfriend have been dating since 2009. It's been a long time, and we want to transition our relationship into a halal one. We informed our parents two years ago that we want to get married, and both of our parents agreed. In January 2017, they visited my place and committed to doing the nikah within a year. However, after 8-9 months, my boyfriend’s parents have delayed the nikah and now want to postpone it for another 1-2 years. We are unsure whether to wait longer or proceed with a court marriage and nikah without his parents knowing until later. We do not want to live an unlawful life, and we are unsure whether this approach is right. If we proceed with a court marriage and nikah in front of my parents, and then later do another nikah in front of his parents, is this permissible in Islam? Should we wait or go ahead with this plan? We are feeling confused and anxious.
Answer 4
Question 5
I am getting married on February 20, inshaAllah, but I may get my menses on my wedding day. I wanted to know if my nikah would still be valid in such a state. Additionally, if I take pills to postpone my period, would I be considered 'paak' (clean), and would my nikah be valid? Is it allowed in Shariah to share the bed with my husband if I have unnaturally stopped my menstruation?
Answer 5
Question 6
I’m from America, but I have been in Syria for a year now studying Arabic. I am interested in marrying a Palestinian girl from America, but the problem is that her parents won’t allow anyone to marry her unless he is Palestinian. I am Iranian (Sunni, not Shia), so they would never allow her to marry me, and that’s the only objection they have. I know that according to Abu Hanifa's position, marriage without a wali is valid even if they are not kuf’. She is 50% sure that her parents would eventually forgive her. Is it permissible for her to marry me, come with me to Syria, and later explain to her parents what happened? Or is it better for us not to get married?
Answer 6
Question 7
I am a Sunni (Hanafi) and my fiancée is a Shia (Twelver Imami). Her family insists that an imam from their local mosque (who is Shia) perform the nikah. I don’t have any personal objections as long as the nikah is done according to Allah's way. However, I am concerned about the differences between the two schools of thought and whether the marriage process might differ. I also worry that my family and friends may think I am neglecting our Sunni Hanafi beliefs if I do not have a Sunni Hanafi imam perform the nikah. Please advise.
Answer 7
Question 8
Respected Mufti Desai, my uncle was only a child when my grandfather performed his nikah. He was probably 7 or 8 years old. My uncle’s actual married life began after he was around 25 years old, but he had a very difficult time accepting the fact that his nikah was performed so early. I believe that it was a custom among Indian Muslims to perform such nikahs in early childhood, and this custom is still practiced in some areas of India. Are such nikahs considered valid? Jazakallah.
Answer 8
Question 9
Assalamoalaikum,
I came across your website on a central mosque page regarding the permissibility in Hanafi fiqh of nikah without the wali’s presence. It recommended contacting you for specific circumstances.
My fiancé and I have been engaged for about a year. We both wanted the nikah to happen much earlier, but his family has cultural concerns that we’ve tried to rationalize without success (including my parents to some extent). We already have a relationship that can by no means be considered halal, and we are certain that any more time like this will lead us to commit zina. In light of this, we wish to conduct our nikah now and then have another one later in December for the families’ benefit.
I understand the Hanafi position that nikahs should be publicized, and we wish we were not in this situation where we are considering a secret nikah. Unfortunately, these are the circumstances.
What do we need to arrange if we proceed with the nikah now? Is it just an imam and two male witnesses? I’m in Pakistan and expect resistance from local imams on the matter (understandably). Are there any resources you could point me to?
Jzk
Answer 9
Question 10
Assalamoalaikum wa Rahmatullah Mufti Saab,
The question is regarding the validity of marriage.
Five years ago, I liked the girl and she also liked me. I sent the proposal for marriage through parents. Initially, her parents resisted and somehow, they agreed for marriage after the girl talked with the parents. Within a couple of months, we got engaged. Due to financial conditions, our parents decided to postpone the marriage for a couple of years. In these years, we used to meet a lot and somehow, we got to know that it is not legal to meet even after engagement.
I got to know from the Imam of a nearby masjid that, the girl can marry a boy in the absence of her father/brother if they are adults. We chose her step-cousin as her wali and one of our friends became qazi for marriage. Mehr amount got decided between us. So, basically we got into nikah without any paperwork and our parents weren’t aware of this nikah. (Just to be clear, our parents agreed for our marriage at that time).
Now in the present scenario, the girl’s parents want to cancel this marriage. The girl tried to convince her parents and even my family and I tried to convince them. They are not agreeing for the marriage. Now, the girl wants to proceed with her parents’ decision and now she believes that our marriage is null and void as she watches some sheik’s videos online. I didn’t get any scenario for the continuation of this relationship.
Now, I’m confused. Is this marriage valid and Do I need to give divorce to her for this marriage? Kindly provide me fatwa in this regard.
Jazaak Allahu Khairan Kaseera! May Allah bless you for your service for the ummah. Ameen!
Answer 10