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Nikah without parental consent

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

A person did nikah in the following way:

a. The parents/guardians of both the girl and the boy didn’t know about the nikah.

b. The Girl was in her menses.

c. There were two witnesses (A & B) present at the time of the nikah. The witnesses were acquantances of both the boy and the girl.

d. Witness A read the khutbah and asked the boy and the girl for Idzhab and Kabul. While Witness B was at the drivers seat.

e. The boy didn’t ask the girl directly for Idhab o Kabul but witness B did(who read the khutbah and Idzhab and Kabul).

f. The nikah took place in a car (the car was not moving at the time of nikah) as they were afraid to do it in a public place.

g. The maher was a silver chain, a bracelet and a few hundred Indian Rupees. (Totalling to around Rs. 1500).

h. The girl accepted the Maher and didn’t object.

i. During or immediately after the time of Idzhab and Kabul, Witness B drove the car a few meters forth because they saw a stranger approaching their car.

j. The Khutbah after Idhab o Kabul was read by Witness A while the car was moving.

k. After approximately a few months or a year, Witness B (who drove the car at the time of nikah) said that “He couldn’t remember hearing the girl answer to the Idhab o Kabul. Although he said he might have but he doesn’t remember it now. Says he was afraid that someone might see them doing the nikah in car. So his attention was deviated for a while.” 

The question is whether the above nikah is valid or not. One of my main concerns is the statement of Witness B that he said after a few months or a year (dont remember exactly). He said “He couldn’t remember hearing the girl answer to the Idhab o Kabul. Although he said he might have but he doesn’t remember it now. Says he was afraid that someone might see them doing the nikah in car. So his attention was deviated for a while.”

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Nikah is a sacred institution that must be respected. It is also an act of worship. The validity of a nikah is dependent on fulfilling strict criteria with the greatest amount of diligence and respect.

The procedure explained in the query is against the respect and reverence for the institution of nikah. It is evident that A and B do not have proper understanding of how a nikah is performed.

In point d) it is said that A read the khutba and in point e) it is said that B read the khutba. In point j) the khutba was after the ijaab and qabool.

In order to issue a ruling, 

  1.  What is A’s and B’s understanding of ijaab and qabool? How is it done?
  2.  What did the girl say?
  3.  What did the boy say?
  4.  Are the boy and girl adherents of the hanafi mazhab?
  5. Is there a dispute now on the validity of nikah?
  6. Does the girl’s parents know of the nikah?
  7. Are both families compatible or not (kufw)?

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best.

Imran Patel.

Student Darul Iftaa.

Zambia.

 

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

 

This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.