Is My Nikah Valid If the Witnesses Are Unsure That the Proposal and Acceptance Happened?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is a nikah valid if the only witnesses are unsure or deny that the nikah happened? There are four people present. The bride and groom and two male witnesses, but the witnesses and the bride are unsure if the ‘ijab-o-qabool took place or not as the four people were only joking around and it wasn’t a serious nikah ceremony.

The bride hasn’t yet asked the groom if he remembers anything like that happening, but she asked the two witnesses, and they are unsure. They don’t remember anything like that happening, and the bride is also unsure. Is the nikah valid?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The conditions of a valid marriage (nikah) is that there be two witnesses who hear and understand both the proposal and acceptance stated in a manner that yields certainty that the contract was performed definitively. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

Allah Most High calls the marriage contract a mighty covenant. It is not something to take lightly. From your description it appears that your marriage contract is not valid and must be repeated.

Those in charge of performing the contract must take it seriously. Consider having a local scholar or Imam perform your marriage ceremony.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.