Question:

Is nikah fard or a sunnah wajib? and if it is wajib then what about those ulema who do not marry?

Can nikkah be done on the phone? if not then how is it possible for a couple to get married without being in one place?

Answer:

[1] Nikah is a very blessed Sunnah so much so that scholars have written to occupy oneself in arranging to marry, or in maintaining ones' marriage through earning a living etc. is preferred over performing extra (nafl) acts of worship, See Rad al-Muhtar, vol.4 p.57. Having said this, for a person who cannot control his gaze and is committing Zina of the eyes etc. it will be obligatory (wajib) to marry to preserve his Deen. Those scholars who never married in their entire lives, such as Imams Tabari and Nawawi, were people of immense piety for whom there was not any fear that they would fall into sin by not marrying. Secondly, their devotion to the Knowledge of the Religion was such that they found greater pleasure in the study of the sacred Science which is not hidden from anyone who has had a taste of of being a true student of the Sacred sciences of Fiqh, Tafsir and Hadith.

[2] Marriage over the phone is permitted provided it is done in a way that all the conditions of Nikah are fulfilled. Thus for example, one such way is, if the groom is in country x and the bride in country y, the groom (or bride), via the phone, makes someone his/her agent in the country of the other person. This agent will then on behalf of his client (Muakkil) offer to marry the bride stating clearly the name of the person who he is representing and the Mahr. The Nikah will only be sound if in the gathering where the agent (Wakeel) is, there are two male Muslim witnesses, and his offer is met with acceptance from the other side. But note the Nikah will not be acceptable if a person who wishes to marry merely says over the phone that he/she offers to marry the person on the other line who says he/she accepts, even if there be two witnesses there too. In other words the offer and acceptance must take place in front of the same two witnesses in one and the same gathering (Majlis).

Mufti Mohammed Sajjad

Wallahu Aalam bis-sawab

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The answer to this question is the opinion of the scholar and does not reflect the opinion of other scholars of As-Suffa Institute and As-Suffa Institute as an organisation.