Is a nikah over a video call valid?
The question as asked, details removedThe groom is abroad. Can the nikah be done over a video call with witnesses on the call?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
No. In the Hanafi school, the offer and acceptance must be made in one sitting, heard together by two witnesses who are present, so a nikah over a phone or video call is not valid. The solution is for the absent party to appoint an agent (wakil), who accepts on their behalf in the gathering.
2Detailed answer
A nikah needs the offer and the acceptance to be made in the same sitting (majlis), with two witnesses present who hear both. On a phone or video call the two sides are in different places, so there is no single sitting, and the nikah is not valid.
The valid way:
- The absent person (say, the groom abroad) appoints someone by phone, message or letter as their agent (wakil) for the nikah: "I appoint you to accept my nikah with [name, daughter of name] for a mahr of [amount]."
- In the gathering, the bride's side makes the offer, and the wakil accepts on the groom's behalf: "I accept her nikah for [groom's name, son of name]."
- Two witnesses present in the gathering hear both.
The video call can still be used so that the family abroad can watch, but the nikah itself happens through the wakil in the gathering.
3Evidence and sources
- Al-Hidayah, Book of Nikah
- Radd al-Muhtar, Book of Nikah
- Bahar-e-Shariat, chapter on nikah
Arabic texts, translations and how the ruling was derived
ولا ينعقد نكاح المسلمين إلا بحضور شاهدين حرين عاقلين بالغين مسلمين، رجلين أو رجل وامرأتين
Meaning: The nikah of Muslims is not concluded except in the presence of two witnesses who are free, sane, adult Muslims: two men, or one man and two women.
The text requires the witnesses to be present at the contract. The fuqaha also require the offer and acceptance to be in one sitting, and they allow nikah through an agent, which is how a person who is absent marries.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُهُ أَعْلَمُ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ