Before you get married, find out how to do it right

Before you get married, find out how to do it right

So, you have decided to take an important and noble step - to marry your soulmate. Your first step... no, it's too early to propose to your fiancée. Before you do any action, you need to know how to do it correctly and in the best way! In other words, you need to have an idea of the laws in Islam that are defined for nikah.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, encouraged Muslims to get married. This is stated in many hadiths. It is reported from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«O young people! If any of you is able (physically and financially) to get married, then let him get married, because this will help him lower his gaze and avoid debauchery. And the one who is not able to get married, let him fast, because in this way he will be able to suppress lust.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

As Imam Ahmad said, there is no single life in Islam. For most of us, marriage is not just allowed, but very desirable. Moreover, it may even be mandatory! If your sexual desire is so strong that it does not leave you alone and you are afraid of falling into fornication, then nikah becomes wajib. There is also the opposite side: if a person is cruel and unfair and is afraid that he will treat his other half the same way, then it is better not to marry. Or correct your bad temper)

In fact, if you look from the perspective of Sharia law, marriage is an agreement between two parties, a man and a woman. And this is a great responsibility, since in any contract there are obligations, as well as rights. Therefore, in other words, nikah is called a marriage contract. Let's briefly look at some important aspects of this issue.

Let's start with the fact that a Muslim man can marry a Muslim, Christian or Jewish woman, and a Muslim woman is allowed to marry a Muslim and only.

Next, there must be a offer and consent. The man proposes to marry him, the woman agrees. According to Islam, a contract is not valid if at least one of the parties is under duress. The very moment of marriage occurs in the following form: the man says: I take you as my wife, or I took you as my wife (in the past tense), and the woman replies: I married you. That's right!

When entering into a marriage, witnesses must be present - two Muslims or a Muslim and two Muslim women. The main thing is that they are adults; their righteousness does not matter in this case.

Don't forget about terry! This is a mandatory condition for nikah, even if the wedding gift is 10 dirhams (the mahra cannot be less than the value of 30.61 g of silver). If the mahr is not agreed upon, then the nikah is considered valid, but the Muslim woman must receive from her husband a mahr misl - the standard size of mahr that women from the wife's family receive. To determine its size, you need to look at the mahr that her siblings, cousins, or paternal aunts received. Usually the mahr is agreed upon in advance. Naturally, it is given to the newlywed herself, and not to her parents, as is customary among some peoples. A woman can ask for whatever mahr she wants, from a ring to a car or a house. But there is no need to get excited about this issue, because the Prophet himself ﷺ said: “The best of women is the one who is beautiful herself and prescribes light mahr.” However, the choice is up to the Muslim woman.

Marriage cannot be concluded with close relatives: sisters, aunts, nieces, both on the father's and mother's side. Contrary to modern understanding, cousins are not close relatives (mahrams) and it is permissible to marry in this case. After marriage and sexual intercourse, the husband's mother-in-law and his wife's daughters, daughters of her daughters and sons become forbidden.

A Muslim woman is given in marriage by a guardian (wali). He may be from a male relative: father, grandfather, etc. If a Muslim woman is a virgin, then consent on her part is considered either a direct answer “yes” or simply silence, laughter or silent crying. Specific verbal consent is required from a previously married woman.

We will briefly list some more provisions of nikah:

These are only the most basic of numerous provisions regarding nikah, emanating from Sharia. All of them were sent down from the Wise, All-Knowing Allah, who created us and knows what will be best for us. Allah Almighty said in the Quran:

“Among His signs is that He created from yourselves wives for you, so that you could find peace in them, and established love and mercy between you. Indeed, in this are signs for a people who reflect" (30:21)

The article uses provisions according to the Hanafi Mashab.