Q: There is a man who is interested in me and we have been seeing each other which we are aware is very wrong. We are eager to make nikah. I am stable in my career but he is younger than me and is just starting out. We have had a meeting with both our parents. His mother is only willing to accept the marriage after he has completed two years of study which he hasn’t even started. My father is happy for us to make nikah but says we should not have contact for the two years.
My first question is, would it be permissible for us to make nikah without our families knowing? They are agreeing to the marriage just not at this point in time. My concern about this is that we know we will not be able to stay away from each other and cannot continue in this relationship for another two years.
The second question is, would it be permissible for a nikah to be performed again after the two years? We do not want to continue doing wrong or be deceitful but we’ve made istikhara which was positive for us both. We care for each other very much and also don’t want to hurt our parents.
A: All premarital relationships are haraam. Only through nikaah the boy and girl will become halaal for each other. You should sincerely repent to Allah Ta’ala for having contact before nikaah. If both your parents are pleased with the nikaah, then do not delay in performing the nikaah.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)