Does the Sharia consider a man to be a husband to a woman or merely engaged to her if an agreement on the dowry has been reached in the presence of witnesses, even though this agreement is usually considered a custom and not a legal contract?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Marriage has pillars: that the woman's guardian or his representative contracts it, with two just witnesses, and a formula indicating the contract. What happened was merely an agreement on the dowry in the presence of witnesses, and this is not sufficient for the conclusion of a legally valid marriage, which requires a formula of offer and acceptance. Therefore, the questioner is not considered the woman's husband merely by virtue of this agreement.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/156786
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 156786
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy