The Ruling on Reciting al-Fatihah and Paying the Mahr in the Contract
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
A letter from one of the listening brothers states: I agreed with my relative to marry his daughter, and the girl agreed to the marriage, as did the rest of the family. My relative specified for me the amount of the immediate and deferred mahr (bridal gift) and set a date for me to come and pay the mahr. I actually came with my brother and my relatives, and we paid her family the agreed-upon mahr in the presence of her father, her brothers, and her uncles. Then we recited Surat al-Fatihah for the marriage. Has the girl become my wife in this situation from the legal perspective?
The Shaykh:
Reciting Surat al-Fatihah is not a contract. The contract is the offer and acceptance, where the wali (guardian) of the woman says, "I give you my ward in marriage," and the groom says, "I accept this offer, or this marriage, and I am pleased with it." This is the contract that constitutes the offer, which is the offer and acceptance, and through which the marriage contract is established. It is necessary that this be done in the presence of two witnesses, and that the one contracting be the wali of the woman or his agent. Likewise, the one who accepts the contract must be the groom or the groom's agent. This must be done with the consent of both spouses, each of them being pleased with the other. There must also be specification of the wife, by naming her, such as "So-and-so," or pointing to her if she is present, and specification of the groom, so that the one being married and the one being married to are determined. As for reciting al-Fatihah alone, it is merely reciting al-Fatihah; it is not prescribed in such a case. Rather, this is from the customs of the ignorant.
Likewise, paying the mahr is not sufficient and does not constitute a contract. If the mahr is paid in the presence of witnesses, it is not considered a contract. The contract is, as we mentioned, the offer (ijab) made by the woman’s wali (guardian) or his agent, and the acceptance (qabul) made by the husband or his agent, in the presence of witnesses.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. As for reciting al-Fatihah, which many of our Muslim brothers emphasize, it is a matter
The Shaykh:
It is not prescribed to recite it during the 'Asr prayer. What is reported is that one should recite verses such as the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:1], His saying: [Ali 'Imran 3:102], and His saying: [Al-Ahzab 33:70-71]. These are the verses reported to be recited, as in the sermon of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
The presenter:
Yes.
A letter from one of the listening brothers states: I agreed with my relative to marry his daughter, and the girl agreed to the marriage, as did the rest of the family. My relative specified for me the amount of the immediate and deferred mahr (bridal gift) and set a date for me to come and pay the mahr. I actually came with my brother and my relatives, and we paid her family the agreed-upon mahr in the presence of her father, her brothers, and her uncles. Then we recited Surat al-Fatihah for the marriage. Has the girl become my wife in this situation from the legal perspective?
The Shaykh:
Reciting Surat al-Fatihah is not a contract. The contract is the offer and acceptance, where the wali (guardian) of the woman says, "I give you my ward in marriage," and the groom says, "I accept this offer, or this marriage, and I am pleased with it." This is the contract that constitutes the offer, which is the offer and acceptance, and through which the marriage contract is established. It is necessary that this be done in the presence of two witnesses, and that the one contracting be the wali of the woman or his agent. Likewise, the one who accepts the contract must be the groom or the groom's agent. This must be done with the consent of both spouses, each of them being pleased with the other. There must also be specification of the wife, by naming her, such as "So-and-so," or pointing to her if she is present, and specification of the groom, so that the one being married and the one being married to are determined. As for reciting al-Fatihah alone, it is merely reciting al-Fatihah; it is not prescribed in such a case. Rather, this is from the customs of the ignorant.
Likewise, paying the mahr is not sufficient and does not constitute a contract. If the mahr is paid in the presence of witnesses, it is not considered a contract. The contract is, as we mentioned, the offer (ijab) made by the woman’s wali (guardian) or his agent, and the acceptance (qabul) made by the husband or his agent, in the presence of witnesses.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. As for reciting al-Fatihah, which many of our Muslim brothers emphasize, it is a matter
The Shaykh:
It is not prescribed to recite it during the 'Asr prayer. What is reported is that one should recite verses such as the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O 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.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًاO you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ(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.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًاThe presenter:
Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 01/084 — archive.org (17:53)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.