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Is an oral marriage without witnesses valid, and what is the ruling on a husband saying, "You are divorced," without the intention of divorce after a marital relationship has been established between them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The marriage contract is not valid merely by the woman's proposal and the man's acceptance without a guardian or witnesses, according to the majority of scholars. However, divorce is considered valid in such a marriage by some of them. When a man explicitly utters the word divorce, it constitutes an irrevocable (bain) divorce, and his statement "I did not intend divorce" holds no weight. Therefore, any cohabitation between them is unlawful, and they must separate immediately and repent to Allah.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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