What marriage (nikah) is, and its ruling
What the marriage contract (nikah) is in Islamic law, and how whether a person should marry now depends on how strongly they need to.
Nikah is the Arabic word for marriage. It is a contract (an agreement said out loud, in front of witnesses) that makes a man and a woman husband and wife.
Islam does not say every person must marry at a set time. How much a person is encouraged towards marriage depends on how much they need it.
How much a person is encouraged to marry
- If a person feels an ordinary, balanced wish to marry, marrying is a strongly encouraged sunnah, the way the Prophet ﷺ lived his life.
- If the wish is strong, and the person worries they might fall into a sin without marrying, marrying becomes wajib, something they really should do.
- If the wish is so strong that the person is sure they will fall into sin without marrying, marrying becomes fard, something they must do.In all three cases, the person also has to be able to give the wife her mahr, her upkeep, and kind treatment.
- If a person is afraid they would treat a wife unfairly and not give her what she is owed, it is makruh (better not) for them to marry for now.
- If a person is certain they would treat a wife unfairly, it is haram (not allowed) for them to marry for now.
Nikah is the Arabic term for marriage. Literally the word means intercourse; in the terminology of fiqh it names a specific contract that gives a husband the right to the marital enjoyment of his wife.
Whether a particular person is encouraged, obliged, or discouraged from marrying at a given time depends on the strength of their desire for intercourse and on whether they can be trusted to treat a wife fairly.
If the desire for intercourse is moderate, neither excessive nor very slight, marrying is an emphasized sunnah.
1If the desire for intercourse is dominant, and there is a fear of falling into adultery without marrying, marrying is wajib.
12If the desire is so overwhelming that falling into adultery without marrying is a near-certainty, marrying is fard.
If there is a fear of oppressing the wife and failing to fulfil her rights, marrying at that time is makruh tahrimi.
If oppressing the wife is a certainty, marrying at that time is haram.
Nikāḥ literally denotes intercourse; in the terminology of fiqh it denotes a specific contract (ʿaqd) that vests in a man the authority to derive benefit from a particular woman.
The characteristics (aḥkām) of nikah vary according to the state of the person contracting it, turning on two variables: the strength of shahwah (desire for intercourse), and the contractor's confidence, or lack of it, that he can discharge the wife's rights.
Where the desire is moderate, neither dominant nor negligible, nikah is sunnah muʾakkadah (an emphasized sunnah).
1Where the desire is dominant, such that there is fear (khawf) of falling into zinā if nikah is not contracted, it is wājib.
12Where the desire is so overwhelming that falling into zinā without nikah is a certainty (yaqīn), it is farḍ.
Where there is fear of oppressing the wife and failing to fulfil her rights, nikah is makrūh taḥrīmī.
Where oppressing the wife is a certainty, nikah is ḥarām.
This is the English translation of Nisab Ahle Khidmaat Sharia, exactly as the book has it, for the passages this page was written from. About 167 words. Switch back to Guide for the rewritten version.
Rulings of Nikah
1. Definition of Nikah:
The literal meaning of Nikah is sexual intercourse, while in the terminology of Fiqh, Nikah refers to a specific contract that grants a man the authority to benefit from a woman.
2. Characteristics of Nikah:
The characteristics of Nikah vary according to circumstances. These are as follows:
Emphasised Sunnah: If the desire for intercourse is moderate, i.e., neither excessive nor very minimal.
Wajib: If the desire for intercourse is dominant, and there is a fear of falling into adultery if marriage is not performed.
Fardh: If the desire for intercourse is overwhelming to the extent that there is certainty of falling into adultery if marriage is not performed.
In these three cases, it is a condition that one must have the capability to fulfil the wife’s rights (such as dowry, maintenance, and other obligations like kind treatment).
Makruh Tahrimi: If there is a fear of oppressing the wife and failing to fulfil her rights.
Haram: If there is certainty of oppressing the wife.
Terms on this page
Related
- Spouses' rights, and marriages that do not hold What a marriage contract owes each spouse, and the situations elsewhere in this section where a marriage (nikah) is invalid or left pending.
- Who you cannot marry: the other causes Beyond family and fosterage, marriage is also barred by combining certain women, by ownership, by religion, and by an existing marriage or waiting period.
- Who you cannot marry: blood relations and in-laws The blood relations and in-laws a Muslim can never marry, and how an in-law relationship comes to be prohibited.
- Further rulings connected to marriage and divorce A missing husband, apostasy, words of disbelief, a new Muslim's existing marriage, a minor girl's engagement, and the limit on marrying more than one wife.