Some marriage officers perform a collective marriage contract by contracting for several people with a single recitation and sermon. Is such a contract valid?
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The questioner : His final question states: Some marriage officers perform a collective marriage contract by contracting for several people with a single recitation and sermon. Is such a contract valid?
The Shaykh : Yes, such a contract, or such contracts, are valid. If a group gathers before a single marriage officer to have their marriages contracted, and he recites the prescribed sermon,
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : which is: "Indeed, praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He misleads, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger" Then he recites three verses, namely the saying of the Exalted:[Ali 'Imran 3:102], [An-Nisa 4:1], [Al-Ahzab 33:70-71] Then he says, starting with the first, saying: "Say," and he points to the groom, saying: "I have married you to my daughter, or my sister, or whatever it is that he wants to contract the marriage for, so-and-so."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The groom then says: "I accept." Then he does the same for the second, then the third, and so on. However, if the marriage is contracted without any sermon at all, there is nothing wrong with that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married a man to the woman who dedicated herself to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he had no need for her, so one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked for her. The story is well known. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:Sunan Abi Dawud 2111Sahih (Al-Albani) And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not deliver this sermon. This sermon is only said on the basis of recommendation.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not on the basis of obligation. And if several contracts are gathered in one sermon, there is nothing wrong with that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, such a contract, or such contracts, are valid. If a group gathers before a single marriage officer to have their marriages contracted, and he recites the prescribed sermon,
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : which is: "Indeed, praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He misleads, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger" Then he recites three verses, namely the saying of the Exalted:
O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
يا أيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمونO mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
يا أيها الناس اتقوا ربكم الذي خلقكم من نفس واحدة وخلق منها زوجها وبث منهما رجالا كثيرا ونساء واتقوا الله الذي تساءلون به والأرحام إن الله كان عليكم رقيبا(70) O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. (71) He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.
يا أيها الذين ءامنوا أتقوا الله وقولوا قولاً سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزاً عظيماThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The groom then says: "I accept." Then he does the same for the second, then the third, and so on. However, if the marriage is contracted without any sermon at all, there is nothing wrong with that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married a man to the woman who dedicated herself to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he had no need for her, so one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked for her. The story is well known. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:
I have given you her in marriage for the part of the Qur'an which you know.
زوّجتكها بما معك من القرأنThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not on the basis of obligation. And if several contracts are gathered in one sermon, there is nothing wrong with that.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.