Secret marriage with unknown witnesses, is it valid in Islam?
I secretly married a woman about nine years ago due to my circumstances. I was a new Muslim and I didn't know if it was the right method. However for nine years I could not give her the rights of a wife which she deserved, and maintained it in secret. Meanwhile we consummated the marriage without even thinking that someday I might have to lose her.
Well, she was sick of the situation and decided to walk out. No khula or talaq took place, but she married another man in front of the world and announced her wedding with him.
I want to claim her back. Can you suggest if it is right? Then I also think that until now I am not in a position to give her the rights of a wife, so why should I disturb her normal life? Please advise.
-Repenting
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If you meant the marriage agreement took place without her Guardian's approval, then the marriage was invalid in the first place. But if you meant the two witnesses, a witness must be a known person, whom can be called for a witness should there be any future problem (like what has happened now).
I am on my way out and could not say much, I might add something later Insha'Allah, or other brothers and sisters will say something Insha'Allah.
the nikah is not invalid if the guardians do not approve. the imam has the authority of the guardian - the only reason the nikah would be invalid is if she had been forced to marry this man. also, it is not necessary to be personally acquainted with the witnesses, as long as there are the right number of witnesses.
this is basic stuff - do not cause confusion to this fellow
AsSalaamu Alaikum
It is agreed among the majority of Scholars of Fiqh that a woman cannot be married without her guardian's approval base on the Hadeeths of the Prophet (s.a.w.s), such as:
"There is no Nikah without a Guardian" (Reported in the following books: Ahmed Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darmi ),
and such as:
"If any woman marries without the consent of her guardian then her marriage is void, Her marriage is void, Her marriage is void." (Reported in Abu Dawood and in Tirmidhi, and the Hadith has been authenticated by Albani).
However, Imam Abu Hanifa has a separate opinion in this matter, that an adult sane woman can be married without consent of her Guardian. And despite the fact that most Hanafi scholars support this opinion and consider the marriage valid without the Wali, however some of them (Like Imam Abu Yousuf) will still regard the woman as sinful if there were no good reasons why she did so. Also, Hanafi scholars did not base their opinion on any fact, except that they do not accept the entire hadeeths that invalidate marriage without a Wali, as authentic.
And Allah knows best
Though, having seen that the majority of Fiqh scholars agree on the invalidity of a marriage contract without the woman's Wali, however, this will depend on which school of fiqh you belong to.
In anyway case, if it turned out to be that your marriage is valid according to your school of fiqh (regarding the Wali side), then I will advise you to just divorce her and ask her current husband to renew the validity of their Nikah. You don't need to create fitnah for her happiness or her peace, since you have witnessed it yourself that you are not really ready for her, and she even had every right to seek for a divorce in the first place, when you neglected her rights.
Also regarding the two witnesses, the majority of Ulamaa of Fiqh emphasize that the two witnesses must be (known as Just people). However, Hanafi scholars do not make it difficult regarding the "Justice" side of the witnesses, and therefore this may not be any big deal concerning the witnesses being known or unknown (It will be enough if the witnesses are Muslims).
In any case, if the matter is about the unknown two witnesses (and not about the consent of her Wali) I personally won't see the marriage as invalid at all.
May Allah help you!!!
Issah
you said it yourself
However, Imam Abu Hanifa has a separate opinion in this matter, that an adult sane woman can be married without consent of her Guardian
According to Hanafi ettique
the imam who conducts the nikah
has the authority to act as guardian
so, bro
it's all there
the nikah is valid
Yes. You are right Nardar. In the beginning I rushed in saying it's "invalid" and left without explaining why (as I was actually in a hurry to go out), and then I noticed that my fellow beloved Hanafis are around the corner, so I had to come back and explain my position carefully.
Anyway, you should know Nardar that it's valid "but" ONLY to Imam Abu Hanifa, and that it is "invalid" to Imam Malik, and Imam Shafi'i, and Imam Hanbal.
And also according to another opinion of Imam Abu Yousuf it's "invalid", and some other Hanafi scholars have said (after Imam Abu Yousuf) that "but" it could be fixed by approval of her Wali at any time during the marital life.
(Imam Abu Yousuf was one of the best students of Imam Abu Hanifa, and according to Hanafi scholars, his level of knowledge could even be compared to Imam Abu Hanifa himself, and that he was entitled to having his own separate Madhhab had he wanted to do so, but he stayed within the Hanafi Madh'Hab out of respect for his teacher).
In any case, all the four major Imams (Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi'i and Imam Hanbal) have said, whenever there is an authentic Hadith which contradicts with their opinions, their opinions must therefore be dropped immediately, and the authentic hadith must be taken with no doubt.
The three Imams based their opinion on the authentic Hadeeths that invalidate marriage without a Wali (Those Hadeeths have been authenticated by recognized scholars of Hadeeths and Albani is one of them, and some of the Hadeeths have already fulfilled the conditions of Sahih Imam Bukhari and Sahih Imam Muslim).
And some scholars have argued that there are probabilities that Imam Abu Hanifa didn't actually see those authentic Hadeeths in his life time, when he gave his opinion regarding the matter, and that if he had seen them he would have mentioned that somewhere, or would have stated why he didn't accept them. However, the Hanafi scholars that came after him (after they saw the hadeeths) are those who argued that those Hadeeths were not authentic. And despite the fact that some of them later accepted the authenticity of those hadeeths, they went on to interpret them in a different way (that the approval of the Wali is a condition and not a pillar)
It's among the principles of the Hanafi school of Fiqh that, when a "pillar" is missing in something, that thing becomes invalid, but when a "condition" is missing in something, that thing does not become invalid but will be considered as corrupt (incomplete) and will be pending till it get fixed anytime, through fulfilling the condition. Just as a room will not be there without the walls (pillars), and just as the room can be there but will be incomplete with no doors, windows, paints, lights (conditions) and etc …
Well, we are still students of knowledge, and we cannot emphasize that what we know/say is the best, Allah is The Superior and He knows best. But again, even if we neglected opinions of the four Imams regarding the matter at hand, the hadeeths could have been enough to invalidate the marriage, due to their authenticities. But yet, we do not deny the fact that this will depend on the fellow to act on what is convenience to them according their school of Fiqh.
Also, the Holy Quran testifies this fact clearly. As you can see that when Allah addressed men concerning marriage, He said:
"And (you men) marry not idolatrous women until they believe"
But when it was about the women, Allah addressed the women's guardians saying:
"And (you guardians) "give not" believing women in marriage to idolaters until they believe"
Allah Ta'Alaa says:
"And (you men) "marry not" idolatrous women until they believe; even a believing bond-woman is better than an idolatress, although she may highly please you. And (you guardians) "give not" believing women in marriage to idolaters until they believe; even a believing slave is better than an idolater, although he may highly please you. These call to the Fire, but Allah calls to Heaven and to forgiveness by His command. And He makes His Signs clear to the people that they may remember." (Quran 2: 221/222)
http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/showChapter.php?ch=2&verse=214
Also, you mentioned that: "According to Hanafi etiquette the imam who conducts the nikah has the authority to act as guardian"
This is actually done in the etiquette of Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, BUT with the condition that, the woman's original guardian denied approval based on unreligious reason/s.
However, if there is nothing like: "Guardian's approval for the an adult sane woman" in the Hanafi etiquette, this also means that the Imam in the picture can't be referred as her Guardian, since she didn't need a Guardian in the first place, instead the Imam will be referred as her Wakeel (her representative who will say to the man, "I give her in marriage to you", and then the man will say, "I have accepted"). A Wali (Guardian) has the authority to approve and disapprove, but a Wakeel does not have the same authority. And the woman can do it alone without the Wakeel (by saying "I give myself in marriage to you", and he will say "I have accepted")
Exalted is Allah, the True King. Do not be hasty with the Quran before its inspiration to you is concluded, and say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Quran 20:114)
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
I agree with Issa here. We should follow the majority of scholars when it comes to this.
However, one link Issa posted is a Qadiyani link. Qadiyanis are disbelievers who claim to be Muslim just like the followers of Musaylimah Al-Kaddhab.
http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/showChapter.php?ch=2&verse=214
She separated her ways on the basis that secret weddings are not valid..... and yet she maintained it without complaints for 9 yrs, out of which the last two yrs of our nikah were worse..... as she had been staying in her parents house for all these 9 yrs... and maintained herself by doing jobs....
I dint do anything which can be said was sufficient..... this relation for 9 yrs remained in suspicion and uncertainties......
Till date i am not in a position to announce my situation in front of the world and i cant say that i married.....
I am not even in a situation to declare that I am a muslim, but i hope i'll be in this situation after 4-5 months from now....
She separated her ways on the basis that secret weddings are not valid..... and yet she maintained it without complaints for 9 yrs, out of which the last two yrs of our nikah were worse..... as she had been staying in her parents house for all these 9 yrs... and maintained herself by doing jobs....
This indicates that she was not a complete adult sane woman, when you planned for the marriage. She stayed silently and maintained it without complaints for 9 yrs, because you tricked her into the marriage, and there was no one there to think for her at that time. And this in itself invalidates the marriage. As there is no one among the four major Imams of Fiqh who allowed such marriage contracts. And this act in itself is against the general Islamic teachings of Adab. You really need to be punished for what you did. So stop creating more troubles for yourself, and turn to Allah in repentance.
You said:
This indicates that she was not a complete adult sane woman, when you planned for the marriage. She stayed silently and maintained it without complaints for 9 yrs, because you tricked her into the marriage, and there was no one there to think for her at that time. And this in itself invalidates the marriage. As there is no one among the four major Imams of Fiqh who allowed such marriage contracts. And this act in itself is against the general Islamic teachings of Adab. You really need to be punished for what you did. So stop creating more troubles for yourself, and turn to Allah in repentance.
Br Issah, Thank you for all your efforts and knowledge shared, however i am not in a position to understand that Was this valid nikah as no one came to know of it for 9 yrs & till date it is a secret.
are secret marriages valid in Islam?
second she is married to someone else! now there is no way to claim her back?
I did not give her any rights of being a wife for nine yrs and she suffocated in silence n suspicion?
are these enough grounds for her to not even take a khula, divorce.
please my knowledge base is anyway less in it. plz dont confuse me in it.
she is respectably married to a man and happy.
AsSalaamu Alaikum Brother,
First of all, Congratulation for becoming a Muslim, May Allah continue to bless and guide you! May He also grant your heart stability in Islam!!!
I honestly don't have the enough knowledge to answer this question.
If your marriage contract was invalid, then you can't claim her back now, instead you should be thinking of asking Allah to forgive you. Also, thinking of another brother's wife, and trying to claim her as your wife is a sin. You must turn to Allah in repentance.
This in itself could have been enough evidence for the Islamic court to divorce her from you, had she complained. And if you try to claim her back now, she could stick to that reason, and get favored. So there is no need for you to try wasting your time.
If you believe in yourself that the marriage was valid, then the best thing to do now, is to just say the divorce (Talaq) word. There is no need for any Khula, since many months have passed and nothing indicated that she was pregnant for you, right!!!
I am very sorry if I confused you unintentionally.
Insha'Allah, you can also respectably marry a new woman and feel happy. In fact there are a lot of good and beautiful pious Muslimahs all over the world, just choose one and Allah will bless your marriage ok.
Hope this helps Insha'Allah.
NO. NO and NO.
Secret marriages are not valid in Islam. And no one among the four major Imams of Fiqh allowed a secret marriage.
Dear brother,
From your question, it is not clear if you had any witnesses at all or if there were but unknown people. Please clarify this so brothers/sisters can say anything in the light of Islam.
In GENERAL, both of you were never together and the relationship never existed. Now she is married to someone else (for whatever reasons- that don’t matter now). The fact is she is gone and you should accept it. Marriage is not a game of hide and seek. So accept this fact. You seem soft hearted person that’s why you have this thought “why should I disturb her normal life” . you should accept the reality.
This is all I can say as of now. If I get to know about your marriage, then I might add something later.
Your sister.
Aoa, i think nikah without the wali( guardian) is valid(in pakistan court marriage can b done without wali) now the better way for both of u is just divorce her n tell her that she reperform the nikah with existing man coz ur nikah was surely VALID n still valid, n she is unknowingly/ knowingly doing sin. For best answer plz consult a mufti sahib not a layman like me. N plz choose the right thing according to islam not according to ur situation.
Wa Alaikum AsSalaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuhu
Thank you very much Brother Mahmud
Actually I did not look at whose website was it, but I just looked at the quranic verse and then verified it in the Arabic version, as I already know it very well in Arabic. So I was just looking for where it was stated correctly in the English version.
In any case, I found another website again which also states the verse correctly.
Allah Ta'Alaa says:
"And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men [to your women] until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness, by His permission. And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember."
(Quran 2: 221)
قال تعالى :
وَلاَ تَنكِحُواْ الْمُشْرِكَاتِ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنَّ وَلأَمَةٌ مُّؤْمِنَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن مُّشْرِكَةٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ وَلاَ تُنكِحُواْ الْمُشِرِكِينَ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنُواْ وَلَعَبْدٌ مُّؤْمِنٌ خَيْرٌ مِّن مُّشْرِكٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ وَاللّهُ يَدْعُوَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيُبَيِّنُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ}
(221) سورة البقرة
http://quran.com/2
In Arabic, "Wa laa Tankihu" means: "Marry not someone", and "Wa laa Tunkihu" means: "Do not marry (someone) to someone" or "Give not someone in marriage to someone"
Allah Ta'Alaa says while addressing men: "Wa laa Tankihu Al-Mushriqaati (idolatrous women) Hat'ta U'minna"
And he says again while addressing guardians: "Wa laa Tunkihu Al-mushriqeena (idolatrous men) Hat'ta U'minu"
Again Jazaakallahu Khairan Brother
I am half Arab. My father is an Arab Muslim. He got my mother pregnant and left her when she got pregnant with me....
AnonymousGirl123, please log in and write your question as a separate post and we will publish it in turn, Insha'Allah. If you'd like some quick advice now, my suggestion to you is to stop seeking the love of someone who is not prepared to give it. It's unfortunate that your father is such a jerk, but you've managed so far without him and you can continue to do so. Live your life and value yourself for who you are.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
I read for a lady marriage without gaurdian will not be valid. If gaurdian is not supportive or she doesnt have any gaurdian at all thn whtz the ruling. I think Allah knws the situation the best n replies vary frm case to case. Kindly correct me if m wrong