The Form of the Lawful Marriage Contract
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Please explain to us the form of the marriage contract in detail; because the people among us call it the al-Fatihah and they know nothing about it. May Allah reward you with good?
Answer: The marriage contract is for the wali (guardian) — her father, or her closest brother, the closest of her 'asabah (residuary male heirs), and the closest of them is the father, then the son, then the full brother, then the brother on the father’s side, and so on — to say to the husband: “I have married you to my daughter,” if it is his daughter, or “I have married you to my sister,” if it is his sister, or “I have married you to my mother,” if it is his mother. He says, “I have married you to so-and-so, my daughter, or my mother, or my sister.” And he [the husband] says: “I have accepted this marriage.” This is the description of the contract. He says: “I have married you,” or “I have given you ownership of her,” or “I have gifted you her.” This suffices, even if... The important thing in the contract is the meaning, or “I have given you ownership of her” in whatever language they understand. The wali says it, and the husband says: “I have accepted this marriage, I have accepted this nikah (marriage contract), and I am pleased with it.” If he says to you, “The contract is complete,” and the wife is free from the impediments and the husband is free from the impediments, then if there is a defect, such as the wife being mahram (a relative one may not marry) or the husband being in a state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage), the marriage is not valid while in ihram, or if she is in the 'iddah (waiting period) after she has exited the 'iddah of the husband who divorced her or who died, then the marriage is not valid, or if the husband is a disbeliever and she is a Muslim woman, the marriage is not valid. It is necessary for the conditions to be met and the impediments to be absent. If the conditions are met and the impediments are absent, the wali says to the husband: “I have married you to my daughter, or my sister, or my mother, or the like,” and the husband says: “I have accepted,” in the presence of two just witnesses who testify to the contract. So the contract is attended by four: the husband, the wali, and the two witnesses. It is better that before it there be a khutbah (sermon), the khutbah of the marriage. This is better, and it is: “Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide him, and whom He misguides, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.” Then he recites His saying, the Exalted: [Al Imran: 102], [An Nisa: 1], and His saying, the Exalted: [Al Ahzab: 70-71]. After this, he says: “I have married you,” the wali says, and the husband says: “I have accepted,” after this khutbah. This khutbah is a sunnah (recommended practice) and is mustahabb (recommended). It is recited by the wali, or by the husband, or by one of the witnesses present with them, or by someone else, or by the mu'adhdhin (the one who calls to prayer) at whom they get married, or by the judge at whom they get married. If one of the attendees recites it — the husband, the wali, the mu'adhdhin, or one of the witnesses — the requirement is fulfilled. It is called the khutbah al-hajah (sermon of need), but it is not a condition. If he says: “I have married you,” and the husband says: “I have accepted,” and he did not perform the khutbah, there is no harm. The marriage is valid if it is in the presence of the witnesses and the conditions are met and the impediments are absent. So praise be to Allah, but they left the better option. The better option is that the contract be after this khutbah that you heard. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
Answer: The marriage contract is for the wali (guardian) — her father, or her closest brother, the closest of her 'asabah (residuary male heirs), and the closest of them is the father, then the son, then the full brother, then the brother on the father’s side, and so on — to say to the husband: “I have married you to my daughter,” if it is his daughter, or “I have married you to my sister,” if it is his sister, or “I have married you to my mother,” if it is his mother. He says, “I have married you to so-and-so, my daughter, or my mother, or my sister.” And he [the husband] says: “I have accepted this marriage.” This is the description of the contract. He says: “I have married you,” or “I have given you ownership of her,” or “I have gifted you her.” This suffices, even if... The important thing in the contract is the meaning, or “I have given you ownership of her” in whatever language they understand. The wali says it, and the husband says: “I have accepted this marriage, I have accepted this nikah (marriage contract), and I am pleased with it.” If he says to you, “The contract is complete,” and the wife is free from the impediments and the husband is free from the impediments, then if there is a defect, such as the wife being mahram (a relative one may not marry) or the husband being in a state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage), the marriage is not valid while in ihram, or if she is in the 'iddah (waiting period) after she has exited the 'iddah of the husband who divorced her or who died, then the marriage is not valid, or if the husband is a disbeliever and she is a Muslim woman, the marriage is not valid. It is necessary for the conditions to be met and the impediments to be absent. If the conditions are met and the impediments are absent, the wali says to the husband: “I have married you to my daughter, or my sister, or my mother, or the like,” and the husband says: “I have accepted,” in the presence of two just witnesses who testify to the contract. So the contract is attended by four: the husband, the wali, and the two witnesses. It is better that before it there be a khutbah (sermon), the khutbah of the marriage. This is better, and it is: “Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide him, and whom He misguides, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.” Then he recites His saying, the Exalted:
O 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 وَلا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَO 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 أَيُّهَاا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامََ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا(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 وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًاThe presenter: May Allah reward you with good and do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.