Marriage is legal union of two people, it is legally binding contract between two parties which legitimizes their relationship and their children together. Marriage is also known as Nikah. The civil contract of marriage is enforced by signing a legal instrument called the Nikahnama. According to the Muhammadan Law, marriage is considered a civil contract rather than a sacrament.
Marriage defined:
Marriage has been defined by various jurists and statutes, some of which are as follows.
According to Justice Mahmood, “Marriage among Muhammadans is not a sacrament, but purely a civil contract; and though it is solemnized generally with the recitation of certain verses from the Quran, yet the Muhammadan law doesn’t positively prescribe …show more content…
According to the Principles of the Muhammadan Law, following are the essentials that make a marriage valid:
1. According to section 196, there must be ijab o qubool. Ijab means a proposal and by qubool, it means the acceptance of that proposal. For a marriage to be valid, a proposal for marriage must be sent from one party to another and that other party must accept that proposal. The proposal and acceptance must be made at the same meeting.
2. A marriage under the Islamic law is not considered valid without the presence of witnesses. The witnesses can be either two males or one male and two females. The presence of witnesses is not necessary under the Shia Law. According to section 197, the absence of witnesses makes the marriage irregular but, not void.
3. According to section 199, marriage with a woman undergoing iddah is not considered to be valid, it is considered to be …show more content…
The section 195 of the Principles of Muhammadan Law states, that any Muslim with a sound mind and who has attained the age of puberty can contract a valid marriage. By puberty it means the minimum age of fifteen years in case of absence of evidence. A minor or a person of an unsound mind can contract a valid marriage in the presence of their guardian. Section 207 of the Principles of Muhammadan Law defines a minor as someone who has not acquired the age of puberty.
A marriage without free consent is considered under the Islamic law. Some Sunni schools state that marriage of a woman is valid without her consent if the man is her equal and the dower being offered is good.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 goes into more detail when it comes to the age of the contracting party. According to the section 2 of this Act, a child is someone, who if female is someone who has not acquired the age of eighteen years and in case of male, has not acquired the age of twenty-one. Under this act, a minor is someone who of either gender has not acquired the age of eighteen years. According to this act, any adult marrying a child will be punishable by the