Does My Engagement Count as a Marriage (Nikah)


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question:

I will have my Fatiha tomorrow InshaAllah, and my fiancé ensures that it can be counted as an Islamic marriage because the conditions for an Islamic marriage are met. (We have witnesses, we both + our parents agree). I am not sure about it since I learned that we could only be called wife and husband Islamically when the contract is written. Now I am confused about what we‘re allowed to do, whether we’re allowed to be alone, and what rights he has over me after Fatiha.

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

Walaikum assalam,

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah. May Allah bless your union and make it of great good for both of you.

The conditions of a nikah (marriage) are (a) a sound offer (ijab) from one party; (b) a sound acceptance (qabul) from the other party; (c) in the presence of two or more witnesses who are aware that what is taking place is a marriage contract. [Qudri Basha; Mulla Miskin/Nasafi, Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq]

Writing down the marriage contract is a sunna, and it is highly emphasized to register the marriage. Unregistered marriages can have serious harm, especially for a woman.

Do check out the related courses and resources on SeekersGuidance.

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

 

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.