Section 1: Marriage Conditions
1- Ruling on stipulating conditions in the marriage contract:
The basic ruling is that it is permissible to stipulate any condition so long as there is no textual evidence to disallow it. This is the view of the Hanbali Madhab, a group from the righteous predecessors, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
2. Invalid conditions:
a. Nullifying invalid conditions: [51] Invalid conditions that make the marriage contract invalid.
i. Quid pro quo marriages [52] The practice is known in Arabic as Shighaar Marriage, which happens when two men stipulate that each man will marry the daughter, sister, or ward of the other, with no mandatory bride price (mahr) from her groom.
1. Without offering a bride price: The majority of scholars hold the view that a quid pro quo marriage is nullified if it is conducted without offering the mandatory bride price (mahr), whether it is before or after consummating the marriage. This is the view of the Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Dhahiri Madhabs.
2. With offering a bride price: The scholars differed on the ruling of a quid pro quo marriage that offers the two brides their mandatory gift (bride price). The majority of scholars [53] The view of the Maliki Madhab is that the marriage contract will be nullified if it happened before consummating the marriage. However, if the marriage has already been consummated, then it will be deemed valid provided the bride receives a bride price like that of her peers. hold the view that it is a valid marriage contract, [54] The Shafi’i and Hanafi scholars stipulated that the bride price should be like that of her peers while the Hanbali scholars stipulated that the bride price should not be little or to toy with the ruling. which is the view of the Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali Madhabs. The other view holds that it is an invalid marriage contract even if the bride is offered the bride price that any woman like her would receive, which is one of the views reported in the Shafi’i Madhab, and some of the Hanbali scholars and the view of the Dhahiri, Ibn Baaz, and it is the fatwa of the Permanent Committee.
ii. Tahleel marriage: [55] The practice in which a man marries a woman after she has been divorced three times with the intention to divorce her after consummating the marriage in order to allow her remarriage from her former husband. It is forbidden to conduct this kind of marriage, and it does not make marrying the woman lawful for her former husband. [56] The Shafi’i Madhab restricts the prohibition and invalidity of the marriage contract to the case when it is stipulated in the marriage contract that divorce will take place after consummating the marriage. However, if there was no such condition, and the man marries the woman with the intention to make her lawful for her former husband then the marriage will be considered valid but disliked, and the man can remarry the woman after her divorce from the new man, provided the marriage was consummated (i.e., both had intercourse). . This is the view of the Maliki and Hanbali Madhabs, the view of Aboo Yusuf from the Hanafi Madhab, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and a group from the righteous predecessors. The consensus of the Companions on its prohibition is also reported.
iii. Temporary marriages: The four Madhabs agree that temporary marriages are forbidden and invalid. This refers to the case when a man marries a woman for a specific period of time, and upon its expiry, the marriage ends.
iv. Marriages that are conditional on the wife’s delivery: It is not permissible to conduct a marriage contract that has the condition of divorcing the wife upon giving birth. This is the official decision of the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League.
b. Non-nullifying invalid conditions: [57] Conditions that do not nullify the marriage contract.
i. The condition of not spending and not having intercourse
1. Stipulating in the marriage contract that the husband is not obliged to spend on the wife: [58] This is similar to what happens in some Misyaar marriages. The majority of scholars hold the view that this condition is invalid but does not affect the validity of the marriage. This is the view of the Hanafi, Shafi’i, and Hanbali Madhabs, and it is one of the views within the Maliki Madhab. [59] The Maliki Madhab states that the marriage should be nullified if it was not consummated; otherwise, the marriage will be deemed valid, and the condition will not be enforceable and deemed void.
2. Stipulating in the marriage contract not to have intercourse: The view of the Hanafi and Hanbali Madhabs is that this condition is invalid but does not affect the validity of the marriage. [60] The Shafi’i Madhab hold the view that the marriage contract is valid if the husband is the one stipulating the condition. However, if it was stipulated by the wife, then the marriage contract will be invalid. This is also the view of al-Shawkaanee.
ii. Stipulating that the woman has the right to divorce herself. [61] This is different to authorising the wife to divorce herself after conducting the marriage. The four Madhabs agree that the husband can after conducting his marriage to authorise his wife to divorce herself from him. This will be discussed further in the Chapter of Divorce – Section 2: Eligible Persons to Issue Divorce. If it is stipulated in the marriage contract that the woman has the right to divorce herself, the condition will be void while the marriage contract is valid. [62] The Hanafi Madhab states the marriage will be valid and the woman will have the right to divorce herself only if the woman who initiated the proposal by saying to the man, I marry myself to you on the condition that I can divorce myself whenever I wish” and the man accepts it. However, if it was the husband who made the proposal (i.e., the man says to her, I marry you on the condition that you can divorce yourself), the marriage will be valid while the condition will be deemed void and null. This is the famous view in the Maliki Madhab, [63] The Maliki Madhab hold the view that it is nullified if the marriage was not consummated. and the view of Ibn Baaz, Ibn ‘Uthaymeen and the Permanent Committee.
iii. The woman stipulates in the marriage contract the condition that her husband will not have intercourse with her. The scholars are in agreement that if the woman stipulates that her husband will not have intercourse with her, the husband is not obliged to fulfil this condition. This consensus is reported by al-Qaasim ibn Sallaam and Ibn al-Qayyim.