What makes an islamic marriage valid

As per the Maliki school of Islamic Sharia jurisprudence that prevails in the UAE, although hearsay testimony is allowed in personal status matters given the private nature of the issues that occur between spouses, it is not sufficient in providing proof of the occurrence of a marriage contract. The witnesses for this purpose would be required to give direct testimony in relation to the parties concluding the marriage contract i.

Since neither of the witnesses put forward by the Claimant attended the wedding ceremony, nor had any direct contact with the contracting parties and the source of their testimonies was based upon what they had heard from others, it was concluded that the threshold of the testimony accepted by Islamic Sharia to prove a marriage was not satisfied.

The judgment strengthens the safeguards and sets a higher burden of proof regarding the determination of the legality of a marriage, particularly in times where false claims are often utilised in order to bring about financial gains in matters of inheritance. The judgment further highlights the importance of precise and accurate data being completed in a marriage certificate; that is, it must include full names, signatures of the parties, offer and acceptance phrases and follow the correct legalisation process.

The case serves as a reminder to ensure seamless, effective succession and estate planning and accurate record keeping are implemented and maintained so that the risk of heirs being burdened in their time of mourning a loved one is minimised as much as possible.

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Take a read of the edition. About us. For a valid marriage free consent of the parties is a must. If the consent is obtained by means of coercion, fraud or mistake of fact, it is considered as invalid and the marriage is considered as void. In the case of Mohiuddin v. Khatijabibi [iii], the Court held that a marriage is invalid if it is held without free consent of the parties.

It refers to the amount of money or other property which a bride groom has to give to bride as a consideration of marriage. Its object is to offer the bride a sense of financial security within and after the termination of marriage. In the case of Nasra Begum v.

Rizwan Ali[iv], Allahabad High court held that right to mahr comes into existence before cohabitation. Under Muslim law, marriage is not permitted under certain circumstances. A Muslim marriage cannot take place if the parties are within the within blood relationship or prohibited degree of relationship of each other and the Marriage turns to be void.

The absolute prohibited degrees of relationship are as follows:. It refers to blood relationship in which a man is barred from marrying the following females. They are as follows:. A marriage with woman prohibited under consanguinity is void.

Also, children born out of that wedlock are considered as illegitimate. A marriage with certain close relatives is also prohibited in Muslims due to closeness of relationship. The prohibited relationship are as follows:. A marriage with woman prohibited under affinity is void. It refers to milk relationship. A man is restricted from marrying the persons who come under foster relationship. The restrictions are as follows:. Under the Sunni law has a few exceptions with respect to prohibition on ground of fosterage and the following Marriage is considered as valid:.

The Shia jurists consider Consanguinity and fosterage at same footing and deny the exception allowed by Sunnis. Under Muslim law, certain prohibitions are relative and not absolute.

The marriage becomes valid as soon as the irregularities are removed. Relative prohibitions are as follows:. A Muslim man is prohibited to marry two different women if they are related to each other by means of consanguinity, affinity or fosterage as if they would have been of opposite sexes their marriage would have been void batil. Under Sunni law, Marriage in violation of unlawful conjunction is irregular fasid and not void but under Shia law, a marriage violating the rule of unlawful conjunction is void batil.

Muslim laws allow polygamy but it is restricted to a maximum of four wives. A Muslim man can have four wives at a time, but if he marries the fifth one despite of having four wives, the marriage turns to be irregular and not void.

However, the Shia law considers marriage with the fifth wife as void. Contracting of marriage must be done in the presence of proper and competent witnesses. The case of Akhter -v- Khan has opened the doors to a number of questions, to which no one seems to have the answer, it is however hoped that as these questions have arisen at an interesting time, this area will evolve in line with modern practices. One way to overcome this problem, until there are further developments in the UK Legal system, is to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement.

This is an agreement, which will set out how your matrimonial assets should be divided, in the unfortunate event of a divorce. Although they are not legally binding documents, more and more weight is now being placed on them since the leading case of Radmacher -v- Granatino , provided they are prepared in accordance with certain requirements.

Do you need advice on how to best protect your assets in the absence of civil ceremony? Contact our family law experts here.