In the last article, we have seen meaning of Nikah, Mahr, and iddat. In this article, we shall study different kinds of Muslim marriages. There are two sects of Muslims all over the world divided by their beliefs and traditions, viz. Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. Marriages in both the sects are conducted in different ways with different traditions and customs and because of which there are several forms of marriage under Islamic law.

Sahih Nikah (Valid Marriage):

The term sahih is an Urdu term for the word ‘correct’ or ‘valid’. When all the essential conditions of a Muslim marriage are duly fulfilled, it is called a sahih Nikah or valid marriage.

It means if two Muslim persons (one being the man and other a woman) enter into an agreement by way of offer and acceptance and the groom has paid the mehr for the marriage to the bride, it is a valid marriage.  A marriage of a Mahomedan, who is of sound mind and has attained puberty, is void if it is brought about without his consent.

Essentials of Valid Marriage:

The general essentials of a Muslim Niqah are:

• Parties must have capacity to marry;
• Attained puberty;
• Proposal (ijab) and acceptance (qubool);
• Both the proposal and the approval must be made at the same time;
• Free consent of both the parties;
• A consideration (mahr);
• No legal Impediment;
• Two male or one male and two female witnesses must be present and hearing during the marriage proposal and approval, and they must be sane and adult Mahomedans. (In Shia Law, this isn’t necessary); and
• There is no need for writing or another religious ritual.

Legal Implications of a Valid Marriage:

• The spouses become legally married owing to which they can legally consummate their marriage.
• Due to the marriage, the parties acquire the rights of inheritance over the properties which can be inherited.
• Although, the Muslim law does not allow maintenance to the fie in case of a divorce because it is believed that the dower paid at the time of marriage is sufficient for her well-being. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has made it clear that after a valid marriage, the wife has to right to alimony and maintenance for her and the children.
• The right to maintenance is an independent right beside the right to receive the promised dower.
• The spouses have to be loyal and faithful to each other. However, a Muslim man is allowed to commit polygamy, so it is only the wife who needs to be loyal to the man after the marriage.
• The Quran allows a man to reprimand or chastise his wife by reasonable means if the wife is disobedient or disloyal towards him.
• The kids, if any, who are born due to the consummation of a sahih marriage are considered to be legitimate children.
• In case of the wife being a widow or being divorced by her husband, she is obliged under the Muslim law to perform the ritual of Iddat under which the wife cannot remarry any other person before a period of 90 days from the date of death of the husband expires. This is to ensure that the woman was not pregnant at the time of the husband’s death.

Batil Nikah (Void Marriage):

If agreement between a prospective bride and a groom which does not meet all the essential conditions of a Muslim marriage is a void agreement and any marriage that takes place in furtherance of a void agreement is called a void marriage or Batil nikah.

In Munshi v. Mst. Alam Bibi case, the court observed that when there is a permanent or perpetual prohibition from marriage due to non-adherence of a condition, it is void marriage.

The following are certain situations in which a Muslim marriage is void.

• Consanguinity (Quraabat) is void. Muslim cannot marry his mother or grandmother, daughter or granddaughter, sister, niece or great-niece, aunt or great aunt, whether paternal or maternal.
• Affinity (Mushaarat) is void. Muslim cannot marry his wife’s mother or grand-mother how highsoever, His wife’s daughter or grand-daughter how lowsoever, wife of his father or paternal grandfather how highsoever, and wife of his son ow wife of his son’s son or wife of daughter’s son’s daughter howlowsoever.
• When a marriage takes place between persons who are absolutely incapable, the marriage is void.
• When a person marries to the wife of another man when the marriage of the lady was subsisting, the marriage is void.
• Marrying more than four wives. In such a case, the fifth marriage and so on becomes void.
• Marriage with a Non-Muslim is void.
• A marriage with the wife of another or a divorced wife during iddah period is also void.
• A marriage with wife’s sister when wife is alive is a void marriage.
• A marriage with foster-mother or with her daughters or her sisters is void.
• A marriage during pilgrimage is void.

In Tanjela Bibi v. Bajrul Sheikh, July 04,1986 case, the Calcutta High Court held that a marriage with a woman who is pregnant from before the marriage is void.

In Adam v. Mammad, (1990) (1) KLT 172 case, the Court held that where the girl’s father had given his consent, and the daughter had withheld hers, no valid marriage had taken place. Here the judge cited J. Mahmood’s classic dicta inAbdul Qadir’s case, and upheld that for the validity of a marriage, consent is a must.

Legal Implications of Void Marriage:

• The marriage is void-ab-initio, i.e., void from the very first day of the marriage even if the marriage is consummated.
• A void marriage does entitle the parties to any legal right or bestow any legal duties upon them.
• If the marriage turns out to be void, the right to receive maintenance after divorce is lost.
• The kids, if any, born from the consummation of a void marriage are considered illegitimate and have not right of succession or inheritance.
• The spouses do not require to obtain a decree of divorce in case of void marriages. They can simply part without any legal formalities.

Fasid Nikah (Irregular Marriage):

When a marriage is conducted by violating certain or partial conditions of a valid marriage, it is called an irregular marriage. These marriage stands between valid marriage and void marriage. The best instance of an irregular marriage is the marriage between a Muslim and a Christian or a Jew. Irregular marriages exist only in case of Sunni Muslims whereas an irregular marriage, under Shia law, is void marriage. Some examples of irregular marriage are as follows:

1. A marriage contracted without required number of witnesses;
2. A marriage with women during her Iddat period;
3. A marriage with women without the consent of her guardian when such consent is considered necessary;
4. A marriage prohibited on account of difference of religion;
5. A marriage with a woman who is pregnant, when the pregnancy was not caused by adultery or fornication;
6. A marriage with a fifth wife.
7. A marriage by unauthorized person.

In general, an irregular marriage is voidable marriage and not void-ab-initio. If the irregularity can be removed from an irregular marriage, the marriage becomes valid when it is removed. So, if a Muslim man of Sunni sect marries a Jewish woman but gets her converted to Islam, the marriage is valid. The social and legal implications of an irregular marriage depend upon the question of whether the marriage was consummated or not.

Legal Implications of Irregular Marriage:

• Unless the marriage is consummated, the wife has no right to receive dower from the husband in the case, he divorces her.
• The wife is not bound to follow the rule of iddat, i.e., prohibition from remarriage within 3 months of divorce if the marriage is not consummated.
• The wife has no right to claim maintenance from the husband during the iddat period of three months.
• If the irregular marriage is consummated and results in the birth of children, the children will be considered legitimate and shall have all rights of inheritance of properties.
• The parties to such marriage could not possess the right of mutual inheritance.
• The marriage may be dissolved by any one of the parties.

Muta Marriage:

Muta marriage is the fourth kind of marriage that occurs only in Shia Muslims and not Sunni sect of Muslims. The word “muta” literally means “enjoyment, use”. It is a ‘marriage for pleasure’ for a fixed period of time, also known as temporary marriage.

It is necessary to consider the history of this marriage to comprehend it. The Shia sect of Muslims is prevalent in most Arabian countries, including Abu Dhabi and others. The people known as Sheikhs worked in the oil industry, mining, processing, and exporting it. They were forced to fly to distant locations and stay for several days or even months due to business agreements. The Sheikhs were required to fulfil their sexual needs and desires during this period, but Islam forbids cohabitation with any woman other than one’s wife. Therefore, the sheikhs used to marry the women for a temporary period till they were in that town and at the time of leaving, they get divorced and the dower was paid as the consideration for marrying.

Muta marriage is a temporary marriage for a fixed period of time and in return of the payment of a fixed amount of dower at the time of divorce. A Shia male may contract Muta with a Muslim, Christian, Jewish or Parsi (fireworshipper) woman, but not with a woman following any other religion. A woman may not contract a Muta with a non-Muslim. The amount of dower must be specified in the contract of Muta otherwise the agreement is void. The time period and the dower must be informed and accepted by the bride as well. This marriage is not followed in Sunni Muslims which consider marriage to be a permanent union and not a temporary affair. The number of wives that can be taken into Muta marriage is unlimited. The ceiling of four wives does not apply here.

Essentials of Muta Marriage:

Essential condition for a valid Muta-marriage may be as under:-

1. The parties must have attained the age of puberty (fifteen years) and must also possess a sound mind. Guardians cannot contract Muta of any minor. Minor’s muta is void even if it has been contracted by a marriage guardian.
2. The Shia male may contract Muta with any Muslim, Kitabia or a fire worshipping woman, but he has not right to contract muta with the woman of any other religion. Muta with a Hindu woman is void.
3. There is no restriction as to the number of Muta wives. One may contract a muta form of marriage with as many wives as he likes.
4. The consent of both parties must be a free consent.
5. The formalities of offer and acceptance, which are necessary for a regular marriage, are also essential in the Muta form of Marriage.
6. Muta may be contracted lawfully without the witnesses. The muta marriage may be contracted either by the use of the word ‘Muta’ or any of other word signifying temporary marriage.
7. There must not exist any prohibited relationship between the parties.
8. The period for which the Muta is being contracted, must be clearly specified. It may be for a day, for a week or for certain years.

When the term and the dower are fixed, the contract is valid. If, however, the term is fixed but the dower is not specified, the contract is void. Further, if the dower is specified and the term is not fixed, the contract, though void as muta may operate as a “permanent “marriage.

Remarriage Between Same Parties in Muslim (Halala):

After the expiry of the period of iddat, divorcing parties are at liberty to remarry. They themselves can remarry. But in Talaq-e-biddat, pronouncement of Talaq was done by saying Talaq three times in a row. Nowadays, it is known as “Triple Talaq”. The only way to reconcile the marriage is through the practice of nikah halala, which requires the woman to get remarried, consummate the second marriage, get divorced, observe the three-month Iddat period and return to her husband. 

Conclusion:

There are four kinds of marriages in Islam. They are Sahih (Valid), Batil (Void), Fasid (Irregular), and Muta. A valid marriage is one which conforms in all respects with the legal requirements, and there should be no prohibition affecting the parties. A marriage which has no legal results is termed as void. A marriage forbidden by the rules of blood relationship, affinity or fosterage is void. Similarly, a marriage with the wife of another, or remarriage with a divorced wife, without observing the strict rules set for this occasion, is void. A marriage may be either lawful or unlawful. Unlawfulness may be either absolute or relative. If the unlawfulness is absolute, the marriage is void. If it is relative, it is an irregular marriage. Muta marriage is lawful among Shias in which there is a contract of (so called) marriage for a limited period, which may be a term of year, a month, a day, or even part of a day.

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