What is needed for a nikah to be valid?
The question as asked, details removedWhat are the conditions for a valid nikah, and who can be the witnesses?More
This is a sample answer written to show how the site works. It follows the standard Hanafi books, but no mufti has reviewed or signed it yet, so it is not a fatwa. For a real answer, ask a question. Ask a mufti
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِكِ الْوَهَّابِ اَللّٰهُمَّ هِدَايَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
1Short answer
A nikah is valid when the offer and acceptance are made in one sitting, with the consent of both, in front of two witnesses who hear them: two Muslim, sane, adult men, or one man and two women. Close relatives such as brothers can be witnesses. Mahr is due even if it is not mentioned.
2Detailed answer
For a nikah to be valid:
- Offer and acceptance (ijab and qabul): one side offers and the other accepts, in clear words, in the same sitting.
- Consent: an adult bride and groom must agree freely. An adult woman's consent is required; a virgin's silence when asked by her guardian counts as consent.
- Two witnesses who hear both the offer and the acceptance together: two Muslim men, or one Muslim man and two Muslim women, all sane and adult.
- It must be clear who is marrying whom.
Close relatives, such as the bride's or groom's brothers, can be witnesses, and so can the imam if he heard the offer and acceptance.
Mahr is the wife's right and is due even if it was not mentioned in the nikah; then the customary mahr of women in her family applies. The khutbah, the gathering and announcing the nikah are sunnah.
3Evidence and sources
- Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:282
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Nikah
- Al-Hidayah, Book of Nikah
- Bahar-e-Shariat, chapter on nikah
Arabic texts, translations and how the ruling was derived
واستشهدوا شهيدين من رجالكم فإن لم يكونا رجلين فرجل وامرأتان
Meaning: And call two of your men as witnesses; and if there are not two men, then one man and two women.
لا تنكح الأيم حتى تستأمر، ولا تنكح البكر حتى تستأذن
Meaning: A previously married woman is not to be married until she is consulted, and a virgin is not to be married until her permission is sought.
The fuqaha take the composition of witnesses from the verse and apply it to nikah, where the Prophet ﷺ required witnesses. The hadith makes the woman's consent necessary.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُهُ أَعْلَمُ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ