Marriage by Shighar
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Question: My brother wanted to marry one of the girls from our village, so her brother insisted that my brother marry his sister, and they agreed to this. After some time, and before either of them had a marriage contract, we heard that such a marriage is forbidden and that it is shighar, so we informed them of this.So the brother of the girl my brother proposed to said: Since that is the case, marry me to your sister, and after a year I will marry you to my sister. My brother agreed to give him his sister in exchange for a mahr of sixty thousand riyals, on the condition that he would marry his brother-in-law’s sister after a year for a similar mahr, or more, or less. Is this marriage permissible in this form or not?
Answer: Such an action by the people mentioned is marriage by shighar, which is when one marries the other’s ward on the condition that the other marries his ward. If this is done without a mahr, by making one woman in exchange for the other, then this is shighar without doubt, and it is
forbidden, and the marriage is invalid. Likewise, according to the correct view, it is shighar even if a mahr is named for each of them, because harm is inflicted on the two women in any case, and because of the generality of the hadiths that prohibit marriage by shighar. As we mentioned, this is when the marriage of one woman is conditioned on the marriage of the other. What you mentioned about delaying the marriage of one of them by a year does not help, for this is a ruse (hila). This does not remove the prohibition and does not make such an action permissible.
So you must stay away from this, and each should marry his ward in a valid marriage that is beneficial for her, where she has a choice, and she receives the customary mahr, without linking her marriage to the marriage of another woman in exchange for her.
Question: So in this case, does setting a mahr for each of them have no effect as long as there is an agreement or condition in the matter?
Answer: Yes, according to the correct view, even if each of them has a mahr, this does not take it out of the category of shighar.
Question: Even if the mahr of one of them is more than the other?
Answer: Whether they differ or are equal, this has no effect. Or if the contracts for both are made at the same time, or if the contract for one is delayed from the contract for the other, the ruling is the same. Such an action is not permissible.
Question: So in this case, is this considered shighar?
Answer: Yes, in this case, this is considered shighar.
Question: Suppose that the first marriage has already taken place, what do we tell them?
Answer: They should refer to the judge in their area, or the mufti, and inform him of the true situation, so that he can look into the circumstances of the matter and carry out a valid contract, if Allah wills.
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Question: I am a young man who has reached the age of twenty, and I proposed to a girl who is my cousin. Since I have a sister of marriageable age, my uncle refused to marry me to his daughter unless I agreed to marry his son to my sister, by way of exchange. I tried many times to convince him that this is not permissible, but to no avail; he is insistent on it. Under this insistence, and due to my strong desire to marry his daughter, I agreed that his son would marry my sister, and I would marry his daughter. But until now, the marriage has not been completed. What is the ruling if it is completed in this form? If that is not permissible, what must we do to complete the marriage contract for me and his son without committing a prohibited act?
Answer: The marriage you asked about, where the woman’s guardian refused to marry you to her until you married your sister to his son, such a marriage is not permissible, because it is shighar and an invalid marriage.
If the marriage of one woman is conditioned on the marriage of the other, this is marriage by shighar. If it is without a mahr, it is shighar by the consensus of the scholars of knowledge, and it is invalid. If it is with a mahr, the correct view is also that it is not permissible, because there is harm to the two women for the benefit of the men, and harming women is not permissible. The woman’s guardian must look to her benefit, not his own benefit, because he is her guardian and a shepherd over her benefit. It is not permissible for him to exploit her weakness and his guardianship over her for his own benefit, even if it harms her.
So what you asked about, it is not permissible to proceed with it, nor to contract it. What I see for you is to seek another wife in which there is no condition that you marry the son of her guardian to your sister [al-Talaq: 2, 3] ,
and women are many, and Allah the Exalted has not made in that any narrowness or hardship. You must seek a wife without harming your sister.
Answer: Such an action by the people mentioned is marriage by shighar, which is when one marries the other’s ward on the condition that the other marries his ward. If this is done without a mahr, by making one woman in exchange for the other, then this is shighar without doubt, and it is
forbidden, and the marriage is invalid. Likewise, according to the correct view, it is shighar even if a mahr is named for each of them, because harm is inflicted on the two women in any case, and because of the generality of the hadiths that prohibit marriage by shighar. As we mentioned, this is when the marriage of one woman is conditioned on the marriage of the other. What you mentioned about delaying the marriage of one of them by a year does not help, for this is a ruse (hila). This does not remove the prohibition and does not make such an action permissible.
So you must stay away from this, and each should marry his ward in a valid marriage that is beneficial for her, where she has a choice, and she receives the customary mahr, without linking her marriage to the marriage of another woman in exchange for her.
Question: So in this case, does setting a mahr for each of them have no effect as long as there is an agreement or condition in the matter?
Answer: Yes, according to the correct view, even if each of them has a mahr, this does not take it out of the category of shighar.
Question: Even if the mahr of one of them is more than the other?
Answer: Whether they differ or are equal, this has no effect. Or if the contracts for both are made at the same time, or if the contract for one is delayed from the contract for the other, the ruling is the same. Such an action is not permissible.
Question: So in this case, is this considered shighar?
Answer: Yes, in this case, this is considered shighar.
Question: Suppose that the first marriage has already taken place, what do we tell them?
Answer: They should refer to the judge in their area, or the mufti, and inform him of the true situation, so that he can look into the circumstances of the matter and carry out a valid contract, if Allah wills.
.
Question: I am a young man who has reached the age of twenty, and I proposed to a girl who is my cousin. Since I have a sister of marriageable age, my uncle refused to marry me to his daughter unless I agreed to marry his son to my sister, by way of exchange. I tried many times to convince him that this is not permissible, but to no avail; he is insistent on it. Under this insistence, and due to my strong desire to marry his daughter, I agreed that his son would marry my sister, and I would marry his daughter. But until now, the marriage has not been completed. What is the ruling if it is completed in this form? If that is not permissible, what must we do to complete the marriage contract for me and his son without committing a prohibited act?
Answer: The marriage you asked about, where the woman’s guardian refused to marry you to her until you married your sister to his son, such a marriage is not permissible, because it is shighar and an invalid marriage.
If the marriage of one woman is conditioned on the marriage of the other, this is marriage by shighar. If it is without a mahr, it is shighar by the consensus of the scholars of knowledge, and it is invalid. If it is with a mahr, the correct view is also that it is not permissible, because there is harm to the two women for the benefit of the men, and harming women is not permissible. The woman’s guardian must look to her benefit, not his own benefit, because he is her guardian and a shepherd over her benefit. It is not permissible for him to exploit her weakness and his guardianship over her for his own benefit, even if it harms her.
So what you asked about, it is not permissible to proceed with it, nor to contract it. What I see for you is to seek another wife in which there is no condition that you marry the son of her guardian to your sister
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect.
وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُand women are many, and Allah the Exalted has not made in that any narrowness or hardship. You must seek a wife without harming your sister.