Is a Nikah Valid over Text If One Side Has Witnesses?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

If a boy and girl agree to nikah via text without witnesses on the girl’s side, is the nikah valid if she’s unsure about witnesses on his side?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

The marriage will not be valid via text this way. It will only be valid if the text was read out audibly and acceptance was audible in the presence of two witnesses at the time of acceptance. [Ibn ʿAbidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Marriage by Text

Marriage by text message is valid if the man or woman sends a proposal, such as “I marry you,” and the other reads the message audibly and accepts it audibly, in the presence of at least two male witnesses or one male witness and two female witnesses.

Related

• Marriage Reader

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I pray this helps with your question.

Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

وصورته أن يكتب إليها يخطبها فإذا بلغها الكتاب أحضرت الشهود وقرأته عليهم وقالت زوجت نفسي منه أو تقول إن فلانا كتب إلي يخطبني فاشهدوا أني زوجت نفسي منه. أما لو لم تقل بحجرتهم سوى زوجت نفسي من فلان لا ينعقد لأن سماع الشطرين شرط صحة النكاح، وبإسماعهم الكتاب أو التعبير عنه منها قد سمعوا الشطرين بخلاف ما إذا انتفيا
(رد المحتار ج-٣ ص-١٢)

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.