Islamic Marriage Articles, - Choosing a Spouse, - Forced Marriages, -

Share

May a father force his virgin daughter who attained puberty to marry? Two well-known opinions in this regard are reported from Ahmad:
1.That he may compel her. This is also the opinion of Maalik, ash-Shaafi`ee, and others.
2.That he may not. This is also the opinion of Aboo Haneefah and others, and is the correct one.
People have differed as to the reason permitting the compulsion: whether it is virginity, the daughter being underaged, or a combination of both. The closest opinion to the truth is her being underaged, whereas no one can compel an adult virgin in marriage. Aboo Hurayrah, radhiallahu `anhu, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, said:
"A non-virgin woman may not be married without her command, and a virgin may not be married without her permission; and enough permission for her is to remain silent (because of her natural shyness)."[Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim, and others]
Thus the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, prohibits forcing a virgin in marriage without her permission, whether it be her father or someone else. Furthermore, `Aa';ishah, radhiallahu `anhaa, said that she asked the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, "In the case of a young girl whose parents marry her, should her permission be sought or not?" He replied,"Yes, she must give her permission."She then said, "But a virgin will be shy, O Allaah’s Messenger." He answered:
"Her silence is [considered as] her permission."[Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim, and others]
This applies to the father as well as others. Furthermore, Islam does not give the father the right to use any of her wealth without her permission, how then could he be allowed to decide, without her permission, how her body (which is more important than her wealth) is to be used, specially when she disagrees to that and is mature to decide for herself?
Also, there is evidence and consensus in Islam to restrict an underage person’s free control of his wealth or person. However, to make a virginity a reason for the restriction contradicts the Islamic basis.
As for the difference between the non-virgin and virgin in the hadeeth of the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, it is not a differentiation between compulsion and non-compulsion; rather, the difference between the two cases is that
(a) the former gives her instructions for the marriage whereas the latter gives permission, and that
(b) the virgin’s silence counts as a permission.
The reason for this is that a virgin would be shy to discuss the matter of marriage, so she is not proposed to directly; rather, her walee (guardian) is approached, he takes her permission, and then she gives him the permission not the command to marry her.
And as for a non-virgin, she would not have the shyness of virginity anymore; thus she can discuss the matter of her marriage, she can be proposed to, and she gives the command to her walee to perform the marriage, and he must obey her.
Thus the walee is command-executor in the case of the non-virgin, and is permission-seeker in the case of the virgin. This is what the Prophet's words indicate. As for compelling her to marry despite her loathing to do so, this would contradict the fundamentals and reason. Allaah ta`ala did not permit a walee to force her to sell or rent her property without her permission. Neither did He permit him to force her to eat or drink or wear that which she does not wish. How would He then oblige her to accompany and copulate with a person whose company she hates - at the time when Allaah ta`ala has sent between the two spouses love and mercy? If such company happens despite her hatred and repulsion, where is the love and mercy.

PUBLISHER

Islamic Marriage Articles, - Choosing a Spouse, - Conditions of the Walee(Guardian), -

Share

QUESTION:What exactly constitutes a guardian, as is needed in the nikkah ceremony? I am a female Muslim, and I want to know if my older brother is acceptable for this role.
ANSWER:
Praise be to Allaah.
There are three pillars or conditions for the marriage contract in Islam:
1.Both parties should be free of any obstacles that might prevent the marriage from being valid, such as their beingmahramsof one another (i.e., close relatives who are permanently forbidden to marry), whether this relationship is through blood ties or through breastfeeding (radaa’) etc., or where the man is a kaafir (non-Muslim) and the woman is a Muslim, and so on.
2.There should be an offer or proposal (eejaab) from the walee or the person who is acting in his place, who should say to the groom “I marry so-and-so to you” or similar words.
3.There should be an expression of acceptance (qabool) on the part of the groom or whoever is acting in his place, who should say, “I accept,” or similar words.
The conditions of a proper nikaah (marriage contract) are as follows:
1.Both the bride and groom should be clearly identified, whether by stating their names or describing them, etc.
2.Both the bride and groom should be pleased with one another, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“No previously-married woman (widow or divorcee) may be married until she has been asked about her wishes (i.e., she should state clearly her wishes), and no virgin should be married until her permission has been asked (i.e., until she has agreed either in words or by remaining silent).”They asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, how is her permission given (because she will feel very shy)?” He said:“By her silence.”(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 4741)
3.The one who does the contract on the woman’s behalf should be her walee, as Allaah addressed the walees with regard to marriage (interpretation of the meaning):“And marry those among you who are single…”[al-Noor 24:32] and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“Any woman who marries without the permission of her walee, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid.”(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 1021 and others; it is a saheeh hadeeth)
4.The marriage contract must be witnessed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“There is no marriage contract except with a walee and two witnesses.”(Reported by al-Tabaraani; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7558)
It is also important that the marriage be announced, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“Announce marriages.”(Reported by Imaam Ahmad; classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1027)
The conditions of the walee are as follows:
1.He should be of sound mind.
2.He should be an adult.
3.He should be free (not a slave).
4.He should be of the same religion as the bride. A kaafir cannot be the walee of a Muslim, male or female, and a Muslim cannot be the walee of a kaafir, male or female, but a kaafir can be the walee of a kaafir woman for marriage purposes, even if they are of different religions. An apostate (one who has left Islam) cannot be a walee for anybody.
5.He should be of good character (‘adaalah– includes piety, attitude, conduct, etc.), as opposed to being corrupt. This is a condition laid down by some scholars, although some of them regard the outward appearance of good character as being sufficient, and some say that it is enough if he is judged as being able to pay proper attention to the interests of the woman for whom he is acting as walee in the matter of her marriage.
6.He should be male, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“No woman may conduct the marriage contract of another woman, and no woman can conduct the marriage contract on behalf of her own self, because the zaaniyah (fornicatress, adulteress) is the one who arranges things on her own behalf.”(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 1782; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7298)
7.He should be wise and mature (rushd), which means being able to understand matters of compatibility and the interests of marriage.
The fuqahaa’ put possible walees in a certain order, and a walee who is more closely-related should not be ignored unless there is no such person or the relatives do not meet the specified conditions. A woman’s walee is her father, then whoever her father may have appointed before his death, then her paternal grandfather or great-grandfather, then her son, then her grandfathers sons or grandsons, then her brother through both parents (full brother), then her brother through her father, then the sons of her brother through both parents, then the sons of her brother through her father, then her uncle (her father’s brother through both parents), then her father’s brother through the father, then the sons of her father’s brother though both parents, then the sons of her father’s brother through the father, then whoever is more closely related, and so on – as is the case with inheritance. The Muslim leader (or his deputy, such as a qaadi or judge) is the walee for any woman who does not have a walee of her own.
And Allaah knows best.

PUBLISHER

Miracles Of The Qur'an, - The Expanding Earth

Share

It is He Who stretched out the earth and placed firmly embedded mountains and rivers in it and made two types of every kind of fruit. He covers over day with night. There are signs in that for people who reflect. (Surat Ar-Ra‘d, 3)
The Arabic term“madda al-arda”translated“as stretched out”in the above verse, means “to be covered, spread out, stretched, pulled out, expanded or opened.” The use of this word in the context of the earth in referring to the formation of mountains and rivers is exceedingly wise, because looking at the scientific explanation of the formation of the earth, it does indeed appear that mountains and rivers formed through the stretching and expansion of the earth.
This photograph taken by NASA from space shows the Gulf of Aqaba and the Suez Canal, to the east of the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai Peninsula, the Dead Sea and the River Jordan constitute the northern part of the Great Rift Valley.
Present day science says that the earth had a very different appearance in the very earliest times compared to what it is now. In his bookDie Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane(The Origin of the Continents and Oceans) printed in 1915, the famous German scientist Alfred Lothar Wegener proposed that all the continents had originally been one single land mass. This great land mass later came to be known by the Greek namePangaea, meaning “all continents. 47Because the plates t ...The most evident expansion taking place on the sea bed is that between Arabia and Africa, where the continents are moving away from one another three or four times faster. When the expansion takes place on the continent, rather than on the sea bed, the result is constantly widening valleys such as the Great Rift Valley in the East Africa-Arabia regions.
A reconstruction from the time when there was only one large continent - Pangaea- about 300 million years ago.The Great Rift Valle ...
The bookThe Expanding Earthdescribes how it is not only mountains, but also certain river beds that formed due to the “expansion” of the earth:
In all cases the greatest stress occurred at the location of the earth's major rivers. This development suggests that the major riverbeds came into existence as a result of expansion rather than random erosion. Since the continents were fixed on an expanding surface, it may be logically deduced that expansion caused the land masses to stretch and, at the points of greatest tension, to break, thus forming the rivers. 52
In statements regarding the continent of North America, the Utah Geological Research Center says:
The ranges and basins have been forming for the past 10 to 20 million years in response to east-west stretching of the earth's crust.Stretchingcreates tension that is released by slow continuous movement or sudden movement along a fault (a break in the earth's crust), which causes earthquakes. During an earthquake, the mountains rise while the valleys drop along the faults. The stretching continues today. 53
Facts such as the expansion of the earth can only be established by comprehensive research and common data from various contemporary branches of science. For example, photographs taken by satellite, the product of 20th century technology, have confirmed the view that the continents were once complementary to one another. Highly accurate measurements have revealed that the expansion in the earth’s crust is continuing at a slow but specific rate. The presence of such special information in the Qur’an, at a time when nobody could determine anything about the continents and, what is more, about formations that took millions of years to develop, once again shows that it is the word of Allah. The way that the Qur’an, revealed 1,400 years ago, contains such profound information about the formation of the earth, is one of its scientific miracles.
The Sun Will Eventually Expire
And the Sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (Surah Ya Sin, 38)

PUBLISHER