A woman who did not pray and then married: Is her marriage contract valid?
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The questioner : Honorable Shaykh! The questioner is asking on behalf of a woman. She says that at the beginning, she did not pray before her marriage, and after the marriage, Allah the Exalted guided her, so she became diligent in her prayers. She says: Shaykh, what is the validity of the marriage contract? The one who performed the contract was her eldest brother, who is her guardian. She says he was neglecting his prayers, and the two witnesses were her brothers, aged fifteen and sixteen. Please guide us in light of this question, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : If she never prayed at all, the contract is not valid, and it must be renewed, because one who never prays is a disbeliever who has apostatized from Islam. A female disbeliever is not lawful for a Muslim. However, if she prays and then neglects it, meaning she sometimes prays and sometimes does not, while believing that prayer is an obligatory duty, she is not declared a disbeliever for this, but she has committed a great sin. The matter of the guardian must be considered. If the guardian never prayed at all when the marriage contract was made, the marriage is not valid, and the contract must be renewed. If he prays and then neglects it, the marriage is valid. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.
The presenter : O Allah, amen. Thank you, Honorable Shaykh. Thank you to the sister questioner. Please proceed.
The questioner : If you please, she says: If there is no guardian except this brother, Shaykh, who is negligent in prayer.
The Shaykh : Negligent, not abandoning. If he is an absolute abandoner who never prays at all,
The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : he does not perform the marriage contract; another guardian performs it. If he prays and then neglects it, the marriage is valid. Likewise, if she does not know about his state, perhaps he prays in his home. The marriage is also valid.
The questioner : She asks: Does the imam of the mosque, Shaykh, take the place of the brother who is negligent or abandoning prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes. If the imam of the mosque has no kinship with her that qualifies him to be a guardian, he is not considered and does not take the place of her brother.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good. Thank you to the sister questioner.
The Shaykh : If she never prayed at all, the contract is not valid, and it must be renewed, because one who never prays is a disbeliever who has apostatized from Islam. A female disbeliever is not lawful for a Muslim. However, if she prays and then neglects it, meaning she sometimes prays and sometimes does not, while believing that prayer is an obligatory duty, she is not declared a disbeliever for this, but she has committed a great sin. The matter of the guardian must be considered. If the guardian never prayed at all when the marriage contract was made, the marriage is not valid, and the contract must be renewed. If he prays and then neglects it, the marriage is valid. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.
The presenter : O Allah, amen. Thank you, Honorable Shaykh. Thank you to the sister questioner. Please proceed.
The questioner : If you please, she says: If there is no guardian except this brother, Shaykh, who is negligent in prayer.
The Shaykh : Negligent, not abandoning. If he is an absolute abandoner who never prays at all,
The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : he does not perform the marriage contract; another guardian performs it. If he prays and then neglects it, the marriage is valid. Likewise, if she does not know about his state, perhaps he prays in his home. The marriage is also valid.
The questioner : She asks: Does the imam of the mosque, Shaykh, take the place of the brother who is negligent or abandoning prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes. If the imam of the mosque has no kinship with her that qualifies him to be a guardian, he is not considered and does not take the place of her brother.
The presenter : May Allah reward you with good. Thank you to the sister questioner.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 227- امرأة كانت لا تصلي وتزوجت هل عقدها صحيح /سؤال على الهاتف /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.