Is the marriage religiously valid if it was conducted by the Imam reciting Al-Fatiha with Muslim witnesses, without the presence of the Christian wife's guardian, but he was consenting and nearby?
It appears that the aforementioned marriage contract is invalid for several reasons:
1. A Muslim undertook the marriage contract of a disbeliever, and a Muslim cannot be the guardian of a disbeliever. 2. The woman's guardian did not utter words indicating an offer (ijab), nor did he appoint someone to act on his behalf in that regard. 3. The contract was limited to merely reciting Al-Fatiha without a formula indicating the contract.
Therefore, the contract must be renewed with the presence of the woman's guardian or his representative, and her guardian or a man from her own religion should directly undertake the contract with a formula indicating marriage. The children resulting from this marriage are considered legitimate to the husband if he believed in the validity of the marriage.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/100650
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 100650
- 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