Title

I recently had my nikah done secretly in the presence of two Muslim females, one Muslim male, and one Christian male. Is the nikah valid?

Question

I am 21 and have just recently gotten my nikah done secretly in the presence of two Muslim girls, one Muslim man, and one Christian man. This Muslim was the same person who read the whole oath to make the nikah happen and at the same time my husband and I had our hands on top of the Quran so we both swore of the Quran and of course in the presence of Allah we accepted each other. So I would like to know was our nikah valid?

Answer

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

In principle, a nikah is valid according to Shari’ah if an offer and acceptance of marriage occurs in the presence of either two male or one male and two female Muslim witnesses who are free, sane, and mature. There is no concept of reading an oath and swearing on the Quran etc. in the process of nikah. Your nikah was valid since the abovementioned conditions were present.

However, we highly discourage getting a secret nikah done as this is a cause for one’s parents and family to get upset once they find out. One should always seek the advice of their parents and family members in such matters. On top of that, one’s parents and family would surely like to enjoy their child’s nikah ceremony as it is a joyous occasion. Now that your nikah has occurred, you should inform your parents before they find out themselves.

النكاح ينعقد بالايجاب والقبول بلفظين يعبر بهما عن الماضي او يعبر باحدهما عن الماضي والاخر عن المستقبل.......و لا ينعقد نكاح المسلمين الا بحضور شاهدين حرين بالغين عاقلين مسلمين او رجل وامراتين

(Quduri, p. 149-150, Qadimi Kutub)

And Allāh knows best.

Muftī Asif Umar

Washington, DC (USA)

Concurred by:

Muftī Abrar Mirza

Chicago, IL (USA)

Under the Supervision of Muftī Ebrahim Desai (South Africa)

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