Iam sudanese-egyptian muslim and was born and raised in muslim country and know many things behamd allah. i came here to america and now i currently live in america.iam 20 years old now and in college. i have been with this muslim girl from yugoslavia and we really love each other we even talked about getting married. one of the main reasons we picked each other is because we are both muslims and we belive in god. shes everything i want in a woman, A muslim, good heart, great woman. I talk to her alot about islam and al akhera(here after). and she teaches me things too in her way. sorry for the long introductiong. my question was i have heard of Nikah, but i dont’ really understand what it is, i tried tos earch but couldn’t find alot of information. i dont’ want to do anything haram and will get allah swt not good with me. how can i perform nikah? and when i do it, is it as like i have married the girl and can be free with her in anything? can we live with each other?
A Nikah is performed with a proposal (Iejaab) by the male or female and acceptance (Qubool) by the male or female in the past tense and in the presence of two male Muslim witnesses (Hidaaya vol. 2).
It is Sunnat that the marriage be announced and performed in the Masjid and the bride be represented by her Mahram (father, brother, etc.). The bride gives consent to her representative (Wakeel) in the presence of two witnesses to perform her marriage at the Masjid. At the Masjid, the Wakeel represents the bride in the presence of the two witnesses and the stipulated dowry. The witnesses must be two trustworthy and pious male Muslims who are not her ascendants e.g. father, grandfather or decendants e.g. son, grandson, etc.
The Mahr (dowry) is the woman’s right and should be stipulated prior to the marriage.
The procedure of marriage via the internet is same as marriage by proxy where one of the partners (boy or girl) propose to marry the other. It is advisable that the proposal be written in front of two persons. However, this is not a precondition. (Shaami vol.3 pg.12; HM Saeed)
The two witnesses should also sign the document be sent to the other party, for example, in a foreign land and accept the written proposal in the presence of two witnesses. The presence of these two witnesses is a pre-condition. It is important to exercise extreme precaution by verifying the proposal and its witnessing to avoid any possibility of fraud and deception.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai