Images of Shighar Marriage

Question:
Our brother asks about the rulings of shighar, as he is in dire need of knowing the details of this ruling. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. As for what follows, Allah has established marriage and wedlock upon the consent of the two spouses, harmony and agreement between them, and that a suitable, righteous husband be chosen for the woman, and that the woman choose a man of equal standing, with her guardian selecting him for her and taking her opinion into account. So, whatever causes harmony and good conduct between the spouses is required, and whatever causes disagreement and bad conduct between the spouses is prohibited. Among such prohibited matters is shighar, the marriage of shighar. The term shighar is derived from the word for something being empty or vacant. Thus, the marriage of shighar is a marriage devoid of a mahr (bridal gift), where a woman is made the substitute for another woman. That is, her guardian marries her to a man on the condition that the other man marries his ward to the first man, with no mahr between them.
Any marriage of this nature, where one marries his ward on the condition that the other marries his ward, with no mahr between them, is shighar by the consensus of the scholars. It is an invalid marriage that does not make lawful what Allah the Exalted has forbidden. The existence of this contract is like its non-existence; it is an invalid contract with no effect, no marriage is established by it, and no enjoyment is permissible through it.
As for when one marries his ward on the condition that the other marries his ward, but there is a mahr between them, the scholars have differed on this. Is it invalid shighar, or is it permissible given the presence of the mahr? The correct view is that it is also shighar, because it is not free from the resentment of one of the women or both of them.
The presence of a mahr while forcing the two women, or one of them, to marry someone they do not want is considered shighar because of the harm it causes to the woman or to both women. It is obligatory upon the guardian of the woman, whom Allah has given authority over her and placed the contract of marriage in his hand, that he fear Allah regarding his ward and marry her considering her interest, not his own interest. He must not exploit her for his own benefit and marry her for his own sake, but rather he must marry her for her sake. And success is from Allah.