Is My Phone-Call Nikah Valid in the Shafi‘i School With an Imam as Wali?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
My husband is Gazan and still lives in Gaza. We are both Shafiʿi Muslims. We met online and agreed to have a nikah by WhatsApp telephone call in 2025. As I am a revert, I have no Muslim male relatives to act on my behalf, so the imam who led the ceremony was my wali. We had two male witnesses present, a deferred mahr was verbally agreed upon, and we received a nikah certificate. So many people tell me that my nikah isn’t valid and that I should marry someone else. If we fulfilled the integrals of the contract, all were present, and the deferred mahr was agreed during the ceremony, does this still mean it wasn’t a valid marriage?
Summary Answer
In the Shafiʿi school, a marriage contract done over a phone call is not valid because both witnesses must hear and see those speaking. An imam can be a guardian for a woman with no Muslim relatives, under certain conditions. You can put this right by renewing the contract in person, with your husband represented by a proxy.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate.
In the Shafiʿi school, a marriage contract made over a phone call is not valid, and the way to put it right is open to you now.
I understand how painful it is to hear people dismiss something you entered into sincerely. You sought a guardian, had witnesses, and agreed on a dowry; what was missing can be put right.
The Witnesses Must Hear and See the Contract
Marriage has five essential parts: the husband, the wife, the guardian (wali), two witnesses, and the spoken offer and acceptance. [Shatiri, al-Yaqut al-Nafis] The dowry (mahr) isn’t one of them, so deferring it doesn’t affect the contract.
Imam Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) states that a marriage is valid only in the presence of two witnesses, and among their conditions are hearing and sight. [Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin] Khatib al-Shirbini (Allah have mercy on him) explains that sight is required “because spoken words are established only by seeing and hearing.” [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]
On a phone call, the witnesses hear a voice, but they can’t see the person speaking at the other end. Nor can a call between Gaza and another country bring the guardian, the groom, and the witnesses together in one place, and the contract is valid only “in the presence of two witnesses.” [Nawawi, Minhaj al-Talibin] For this reason, the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, in its Resolution 52 (Jeddah, 1990), excluded marriage from the contracts that may be concluded by modern means of communication, “because witnessing is a condition in it.” I gave the same ruling in an earlier answer on marriage by video call.
So, in the Shafiʿi school, the contract made over the call did not take effect.
An Imam May Act as Guardian Only on Certain Conditions
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “If they dispute, the ruler is the guardian of the one who has no guardian.” [Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi] A Muslim judge therefore marries a woman who has no guardian, when she lives within his jurisdiction. [Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin]
The school also allows a woman and her suitor together to entrust the marriage to an upright man, who then marries her to him. [Ibn Hajar, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj; Ramli, Nihayat al-Muhtaj] Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (Allah have mercy on him) permits this with someone who isn’t a qualified jurist only where no judge is present. [Ibn Hajar, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj]
So an imam can stand as your guardian when you and your husband both appoint him and these conditions are met. If they weren’t, that is one more reason to renew the contract. Since you live where Muslim courts and official marriage registrars are available, the soundest course is to marry through them.
Renew the Contract Through Your Husband’s Proxy
Your husband appoints a trusted Muslim man where you live as his proxy (wakil) to accept the marriage on his behalf.
Then, in one sitting, your guardian says to the proxy, “I marry So-and-so to your principal, So-and-so,” and the proxy replies, “I accept her marriage for him.” [Shatiri, al-Yaqut al-Nafis, editor’s note] Two upright Muslim men must be present, hearing and seeing both parties.
You may name the same deferred dowry. Ask whoever conducts the contract to register it, so that your rights are protected.
Until you renew the contract, consider yourselves not yet married. You acted in good faith on the advice you were given.
Don’t Let Pressure Rush You into Another Marriage
Nothing obliges you to look for another husband. All you and your husband need is one sitting and a proxy, and your marriage will be sound. Talk with him this week, agree on his proxy, and arrange the contract through the registrar or a qualified scholar where you live.
Allah Most High says, “And of His truly wondrous signs is having created for you, from your own kind, wives to repose in solace to, and made between you tender love and mercy.” [Quran 30:21; Keller, The Quran Beheld]
May Allah complete what you started and grant you both a peaceful home.
And Allah knows best.
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Related Answers
One. Is a Nikah via Video Call or Telecommunications Valid? — Shaykh Irshaad Sedick: Why a remote contract fails, and marrying by proxy instead.
Two. Is It Valid to Marry without the Presence of a Wali (Guardian)? — Shaykh Irshaad Sedick: Who may act when a bride has no Muslim guardian.
Three. Are Marriage Contracts Valid via Video Calls? — Shaykh Jamir Meah: The school’s requirement of physical presence.
Four. The witnesses of my marriage were not there. Is my marriage valid? (Shafiʿi) — Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan: What the witnesses must hear and see.
Courses for Further Study
Every course here is free, each has a named teacher, and you can put your questions to the teacher as you study.
One. Marriage in Islam: Practical Guidance for Successful Marriage — Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: The rulings and practical guidance of marriage, from the contract to building a sound home.
Two. Quran: The Fatiha and Short Suras Explained in Depth — Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: The meanings of the suras recited most often, with reflections on living them each day.
النصوص · Source-Texts
[الشاطري، الياقوت النفيس] «أركان النكاح خمسة: زوج، وزوجة، وولي، وشاهدان، وصيغة»
[النووي، منهاج الطالبين] «ولا يصح إلا بحضرة شاهدين وشرطهما حرية وذكورة وعدالة وسمع وبصر وفي الأعمى وجه»
[الخطيب الشربيني، مغني المحتاج] «(وبصر) لأن الأقوال لا تثبت إلا بالمعاينة والسماع»
[مجمع الفقه الإسلامي الدولي، القرار ٥٢، الدورة السادسة، جدة، ١٤١٠هـ] «أن القواعد السابقة لا تشمل النكاح لاشتراط الإشهاد فيه»
[أبو داود والترمذي] «فإن اشتجروا فالسلطان ولي من لا ولي له»
[النووي، روضة الطالبين] «القاضي يزوج من لا ولي لها إذا كانت في محل ولايته»
[ابن حجر الهيتمي، تحفة المحتاج] «جاز لها أن تفوض مع خاطبها أمرها إلى مجتهد عدل فيزوجها ولو مع وجود الحاكم المجتهد أو إلى عدل غير مجتهد ولو مع وجود مجتهد غير قاض فيزوجها لا مع وجود حاكم ولو غير أهل»
[الرملي، نهاية المحتاج] «وكذا لو ولت معه عدلا صح على المختار وإن لم يكن مجتهدا لشدة الحاجة إلى ذلك»
[الياقوت النفيس، حاشية المحقق] «فليقل الولي لوكيل الزوج: (زوجت بنتي موكلك فلانا)، فيقول وكيله: (قبلت نكاحها له)»
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan. Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others. He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town. Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
