I have seen a lot of people do nikah on the telephone. Is it allowed to perform nikah when the groom and bride are in different counties via the telephone?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The nikah cannot be done over the phone, as it is a condition for the validity of nikah that at least two witnesses should be present at the time of the nikah and they should witness both the ijab (offer) and the qubool (acceptance). This necessary condition cannot be fulfilled in a telephone conversation.
However, if a person wants to do nikah with someone who is at a distant place without having to go there himself, he could through the phone appoint someone there as his agent to do his nikah for him with that person.
When necessary, you can enquire from us the procedure of appointing someone as one’s agent to do nikah.
(Aap ke Masail: 5/34; Contemporary Fatawa: pg.132)
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Faizal Riza
12/9/2011