Marriage in Islam - Conditions

Conditions

The Qur'an outlines some conditions for a marriage to take place :

• The marriage contract is concluded between the guardian (wali) of the bride and the bridegroom.

• A nikah should be conducted through a contract and a mandatory sum of wealth provided to the bride, which here refers to the mahr. Once a mahr has been ascertained with the realization that it is an obligation of a Muslim husband, the groom is required to pay it to the bride at the time of marriage unless he and his bride can mutually agree to delay the time of some of its payment. In 2003, Rubya Mehdi published an article in which the culture of mahr among Muslims was thoroughly reviewed. There is no concept of dowry as such in Islam, although mahr is often translated into English as dowry in the want of a more accurate word. A dowry as such is a payment to the groom from the bride's family, and is not an Islamic practice but borrowed from other religions into some Muslim cultures, notably in the Indian Subcontinent. Bride prices are also expressly prohibited.

• Another requisite of marriage is chastity. No fornicator has the right to marry a chaste partner except if the two purify themselves of this sin by sincere repentance.

• Marriage is permitted for a man with a chaste, permitted woman from the People of the Book (ArabicL Ahl al Kitab, Jews, Sabians and Christians) but not to polytheists. For women, marriage to non-Muslim men is prohibited.

• The consent of the woman is only required, if she is not a virgin and her wali is neither her father nor her paternal grandfather. If the woman was forced into a marriage, without the above mentioned conditions, the decision can be revoked. Binti Khudham says that when she became a widow, her father solemnized her marriage. She did not like the decision so she went to Muhammad, who gave her permission to revoke her marriage. Hence, forced marriages are against Islamic teachings.

Despite this Islamic requirement of express consent, some Muslims force or pressure, especially amongst the uneducated, their children marry a partner approved of, and usually chosen by, the parents. See also: forced marriages