The Form of Shighar Marriage and Its Ruling

Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh, the questioner says: My cousin’s son proposed to my sister, and after two years of the engagement, Allah willed and decreed that I would propose to marry his sister. Consent was given, and at that time, my sister’s fiancé, who is my wife’s brother, arrived from abroad. A day was set for my marriage contract, and they wanted both contracts to be performed on the same day. I accepted his guardianship over his sister, fearing that it might be a shighar marriage. What is the ruling on our case? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
If there is mutual consent in this exchange, it is not a purchase. If you proposed to him without an exchange, there is no harm in that; it is not a purchase. A purchase is when one says, “Give me your sister on the condition that you give me your sister,” or “Give me your sister on the condition that you give me your sister,” or “Give me your sister on the condition that you give me your sister.” This is the purchase. But if you proposed to him and you both agreed, or you both were pleased, then there is no exchange, so it is not a purchase. Yes.