The ruling on one who proposes to a woman and then leaves her off before the marriage contract is concluded
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
This questioner says: Your Eminence the Shaykh, if a man proposes to a woman and her guardian says, "I accept," and they agree on the proposal, but he wants to leave her off before the marriage contract is written, is it obligatory for him in this case to pronounce her divorce, or does he leave her off without the wording of divorce?
Answer:
This is not a marriage; this is a proposal. A marriage is when the woman consents and he says to the guardian, "I have married you," and he says, "I accept," in the presence of two witnesses. This is the husband. As for merely proposing to the guardian and saying something that contradicts, where no marriage takes place, this is a proposal. If he leaves her off, there is no divorce upon him; divorce is not required of him. This is merely a proposal, unless he proposed to her and she consented, and her guardian married her off and said, "I accept," in the presence of two witnesses, completing the marriage. However, if she is a minor under the age of nine, her father may marry her off without her permission, specifically only in that case, just as Abu Bakr married off Aishah, a minor, to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) without her knowledge. But if she is nine years old or older, her permission is required, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih al-Bukhari 6970. And in the report, how is her permission? . And in the other wording, he said . And in the other wording, he said . Permission is required. And the two witnesses are required. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
This questioner says: Your Eminence the Shaykh, if a man proposes to a woman and her guardian says, "I accept," and they agree on the proposal, but he wants to leave her off before the marriage contract is written, is it obligatory for him in this case to pronounce her divorce, or does he leave her off without the wording of divorce?
Answer:
This is not a marriage; this is a proposal. A marriage is when the woman consents and he says to the guardian, "I have married you," and he says, "I accept," in the presence of two witnesses. This is the husband. As for merely proposing to the guardian and saying something that contradicts, where no marriage takes place, this is a proposal. If he leaves her off, there is no divorce upon him; divorce is not required of him. This is merely a proposal, unless he proposed to her and she consented, and her guardian married her off and said, "I accept," in the presence of two witnesses, completing the marriage. However, if she is a minor under the age of nine, her father may marry her off without her permission, specifically only in that case, just as Abu Bakr married off Aishah, a minor, to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) without her knowledge. But if she is nine years old or older, her permission is required, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
A lady slave should not be given in marriage until she is consulted, and a virgin should not be given in marriage until her permission is granted.
لاَ تُنْكَحُ الأَيِّمُ حَتَّى تُسْتَأْمَرَ وَلاَ تُنْكَحُ الْبِكْرُ حَتَّى تُسْتَأْذَنَHe said: Her silence.
قال أن تسكت.And a virgin is to be asked permission by her father, and her permission is her silence.
والبكر يستأذنها أبوها وإذنها صومعتهاAnd an orphan girl is to be consulted, not
واليتيمة تستأمر لاThe presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
Source
فتاوى المسجد الحرام (شعبان ١٤١٧ هـ) - ٤ — archive.org (32:24)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.