Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you). My question is what happens when one finds that their marriage paperwork was incomplete by the country they were married in and they wish to remarry to correct this and theWali refuses to grant permission a second time.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Incomplete Paperwork Saving My Marriage

If the following obligatory conditions of marriage were fulfilled, regardless of who conducts the marriage, the marriage will be considered valid and legal in the Sight of Shariah.  Contrary to popular belief, there is absolutely no condition in Islam that the marriage has to be documented or registered to be legal; provided all the conditions are met and agreed upon, even if they are only verbal, the marriage will be absolutely legal and valid in the Sight of Shariah.

The obligatory conditions of an Islamic marriage are:

• The proposal by the groom and the acceptance of the proposal by the bride.
• The determination of ‘mehr’
• The presence of (at least) two witnesses to the above proposal, acceptance, and determination of mehr between the groom and the bride.
• The presence and consent of the ‘wali’ or guardian of the bride (her father, or grand-father, or uncle, or brother, or in their absence, the girl may choose any reliable and righteous member of the believing society to be her ‘wali’.)

Thus my beloved sister, if the above obligatory conditions of marriage were fulfilled, regardless of whether the marriage contract is documented or not, regardless of whether the marriage is registered or not, regardless of whether you possess a marriage certificate or not, the couple will be deemed married in the Sight of Shariah.

Registration at the local Islamic Centre or Shariah Court or any registrar is only to fulfill the legal purposes of the laws of this world and the nation one resides in; these documentations have absolutely no bearing on the validity or legality of the marriage in the Sight of Shariah and of Allah Subhanah.

If even only verbally, all of the above listed obligatory conditions of marriage were fulfilled, your marriage would be deemed absolutely legal and valid in the sight of Shariah and of Allah Subhanah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan