A marriage contract without witnesses

A marriage contract without witnesses

Question

salam.i already asked you a question.you gave me answer but in the form of related fatwa's.i request you to please give me a short answer.i am still confuse. my question is that,my nikah is conducted in the presence of one wakeel and one qari who is responsible for nikah.no wittners present at that time.when wakeel hand over our nakah nama the name of wittners are present on the papers.please please give me answer is my ikah is valid or not.please give me answer in yes or no

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad , is His slave and Messenger.

This marriage is invalid according to the majority of Muslim jurists. The presence of the bride’s Wali (legal guardian) is a condition for the validity of the marriage contract except according to Imaam Abu Haneefah . Please refer to Fatwa 83629 about the conditions for the validity of the marriage contract, and Fatwa 86348 which discusses the bride’s Wali according to the Hanafi school of Fiqh. We have previously underlined that a marriage contract conducted without the bride's Wali is valid if a Muslim judge ruled it to be valid. Please refer to Fataawa 130284 and 89782.

If either the lawyer or the person authorized to conduct the Nikaah was delegated by the husband or wife to act as the agent (authorized representative) on either one of their behalves for the marriage contract, then that person cannot legitimately be a witness to the contract. In this case, the condition of witnesses was not fulfilled either, and the marriage contract would thus be invalid according to the consensus of all four schools of Fiqh. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 146735.

However, if the contracting party is present (along with the Wakeel), then in this case the Wakeel can act as a witness according to the Hanafis. The Hanafi scholar Ibn ‘Aabideen wrote, “The Wakeel acts on behalf of the contracting party and serves as his agent in the marriage contract. If the contracting party is present when the contract is conducted (along with the Wakeel), then he (the contracting party)  is considered to be conducting the contract himself (and the Wakeel is considered a witness) because the words reach him (the contracting party) in the marriage contract session.” [Haashiyat Ibn ‘Aabideen]

Finally, we advise you to consult the Sharee'ah-court in your country as it is the rightful authority to be consulted in your case. You should explain the matter to the Muslim judge in the Sharee'ah-court in order for him to clarify the ruling to you.

Allaah Knows best.