Suitability (kafa'ah) between husband and wife
Kafa'ah is whether a husband matches his wife's family in six respects, and what her guardians may do if he does not.
Islamic law strongly discourages a woman marrying someone very mismatched to her family, because it can bring shame on her guardians. This is called kafa'ah: being a suitable match.
What counts as a suitable match
- Family background.
- Not having been enslaved, if her family has always been free.
- Being a good, practising Muslim, if she and her family are known for that.
- Being able to pay her mahr and support her.
- Having a job that is respected where they live.
Condition 4 requires a woman's guardians to agree if she marries outside the usual match for her family, because it is considered dishonouring to the guardians for her to marry someone plainly beneath her without their consent. The guardians who hold this right are her male relatives by lineage (asbah), starting from the father, even where they are not mahram to her. Kafa'ah (suitability) is measured only on the man's side: he must be equal to, or better than, the woman in six respects: lineage, freedom, Islam, piety, wealth, and profession.
| Respect | What is compared |
|---|---|
| Lineage (nasab) | Among Arabs only: all Quraysh are equal to one another; non-Quraysh Arabs are equal to one another but not to Quraysh; a non-Arab is never equal to an Arab, except that a scholar of Islamic knowledge may be considered equal even to a Qurayshi woman if she herself is not learned. Among non-Arabs, differing lineages do not make people unequal; the child's status follows the father's lineage, not the mother's. |
| Freedom | A man who is, or whose father was, a slave (even if later freed) is not equal to a woman who is fully free. |
| Islam | A convert to Islam is not equal to someone whose family has been Muslim for two generations (father and grandfather); after two generations, all are considered equal regardless of how long each has been Muslim. This factor does not matter where being a new Muslim carries no social stigma. |
| Piety (deen) | An openly sinful man is not equal to a woman who is herself pious and whose father is pious. A woman who is pious but whose father is not, or the reverse, may still be considered equal to a sinful man. |
| Wealth | The man must be able to pay the dowry (or at least the outstanding part of it in full) and to maintain the woman for at least a month, however modest his means otherwise; support from his parents counts towards this. |
| Profession | The man's trade must not be one regarded as demeaning in that society; where a society draws no such distinctions between trades, this factor does not apply. |
There is no requirement of equality in intelligence, age, looks or health.
Marrying a woman to a man who does not meet kafa'ah gives her guardians the right to bring the matter before a judge and have the marriage annulled.
Sharṭ 4 (explanation): where a woman marries outside kafāʾah, meaning a match Sharīʿah does not regard as suitable to her family's standing, her walīs' agreement is required, since a woman marrying beneath her without her walīs' consent, or through their being deceived, is treated as an affront (ʿār) to them. The right belongs to the walī ʿaṣabah bi-n-nasab, the line of male relatives beginning with the father, even where not maḥram to her. Kafāʾah is assessed from the man's side alone: he must equal or exceed the woman in nasab, ḥurriyyah (freedom), Islam, dīn (trustworthiness/piety), wealth and occupation.
| Respect | What is compared |
|---|---|
| Nasab | Equality of lineage is recognised only among Arabs: all Quraysh are mutually equal; non-Qurayshī Arabs are mutually equal but not equal to Quraysh; a non-Arab is never kufw to an Arab. The sole exception: a non-Arab scholar of Islamic knowledge may be kufw to an Arab, even a specific Qurayshiyyah, where she herself is unlearned. Among non-Arabs, differing lineages are not treated as inequality. A child's status follows the father's nasab, not the mother's, regardless of which parent is Arab. |
| Ḥurriyyah | A man who is, or whose father was, a slave, even subsequently freed (ʿatīq), is not kufw to a ḥurrah (a woman of unbroken free status). |
| Islam | A new convert (whether he alone converted, or his father also converted) is not kufw to Qadīm al-Islām: one whose Islam extends back two generations, father and grandfather. Beyond two generations all are mutually kufw regardless of relative seniority in Islam. This factor is disregarded in localities where being a new Muslim carries no social stigma. |
| Dīn | A fāsiq is not kufw to a woman who is herself pious (ṣāliḥah) and whose father is likewise pious; a woman pious but with an impious father, or the reverse, remains kufw to a fāsiq. Fisq here covers both public and concealed major sin. |
| Wealth | The man must be able to discharge the mahr in full (or the balance owed, where part has already been paid) and to provide nafaqah for at least one month, whatever the modesty of his means otherwise; support received from his own parents counts toward this capacity. |
| Occupation | The man's trade must not be one held in low esteem in that society (barbering, laundering, refuse-collection and the like being commonly cited examples), except where a given society draws no distinction among occupations, in which case this factor drops away. |
No equality is required in ʿaql, age, jamāl (beauty) or health.
A nikah contracted outside kafāʾah gives the walīs the right of iʿtirāḍ before the qāḍī, who may annul the marriage on that ground.
Terms on this page
Related
- Guardianship in marriage Who counts as a wali, in what order they stand, and what a guardian can and cannot decide for someone else.
- Marriage of the insane and of minors Why an insane person or a child cannot contract their own marriage, and the right a minor gets back once grown.
- The pillar and conditions of a valid nikah Nikah has one pillar, offer and acceptance, and six conditions that must all be met for it to be valid.
- Custody of children and maintenance after divorce Who has the right to care for young children after a divorce, and when a husband must keep providing his wife's food, clothing, and housing.