MEANING

Muslim Marriage or Nikah is held as a legal civil contract between a man and a woman carried out on the basis of ijab-o-qabool. Ijab is a proposal from one party and Qubool is acceptance from other.  According to Sharia law, this contract is considered as integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage that legalises sexual relation between man and woman to produce children. The contract is never permanent and can be broken at the will of husband and wife.

1.Sahih (Valid )

 Firstly, there is “Sahih” marriage which is fully valid and effective. Under such a marriage, sexual intercourse is lawful and the woman is entitled to both dower and maintenance.

Legal Effect of a Valid Marriage

i)                The co habitation of the parties becomes lawful and not immoral;

ii)              The children born to a lawfully wedded couple are legitimate and can inherit accordingly;

iii)            For the couple itself, mutual rights of inheritance arise;

iv)             The wife can claim dower and has a right to maintenance and simultaneously the obligation to observe Iddat is bestowed upon her;

v)  Prohibited relations are created due to the marriage;

vi)             The legal identity or status of a Muslim woman does not blend in with her husband’s identity after marriage; and

vii)           The parties have rights to regulate the movements of each other but they can not refrain each other from maintaining a relationship with their respective families or visits to then.

2.Batil Secondly, there is a “Batil” (void) marriage. 

Under such a marriage, no rights or obligations exist between the parties. Parties would be guilty of zina, save where the parties were unaware of the fact that the marriage was void. If a marriage is affected by a permanent impediment, then the marriage is declared void. The permanent impediments arise:

• Under the bar arising from relationship of blood, a man may not marry any ascendant or descendant, any descendant of his father or mother, or the immediate child of any ascendant, nor may a woman marry any corresponding male. Under the bar of fosterage, two persons who were suckled by the same foster-mother are permanently barred from marrying each other.

• The bar of affinity arises from marriage, so a man may not marry the former wife of any ascendant or descendant, or any ascendant or descendant of a former wife with whom he actually had consummated his marriage.

• Under the bar of polyandry, i.e. when a woman contracts a second marriage during the subsistence of her first marriage.

Legal Effects of a Void Marriage

No mutual rights or obligations are created for the parties in this union. The children born to such a couple are deemed illegitimate and the wife has no rights to dower or maintenance. The parties can actually marry any one they wish for this marriage does not exist in law or in fact.

Munsh v, Mst. Alam Bibii AIR 1932 Lah. 280 the court observed that due to non-adherence of a condition there is a permanent or perpetual marriage, which is void marriage.

Spouses are free to separate from each other at any time without obtaining a divorce or the wife may contact another marriage lawfully. Some of the essential social and legal implications of void marriage are:

• The marriage is void from the very first day of the marriage i.e. void ab initio even if the marriage is consummated.
• Right to maintenance after divorce is lost in case of a void marriage.
• The children born out of this marriage do not have a right to inheritance.

3.Fasid – Thirdly, there is a “Fasid” (irregular) marriage,

 which is middle way out. This is also no marriage, but can be regularized in certain conditions. Under such a marriage, no zina is committed and a dower is payable. An irregular marriage arises from temporary impediments, which occur when:

• There is an absence of witnesses.

• A woman who is already married.

• A woman who is still observing the idda period.

• A woman whom he has triply repudiated, unless she has married another man and that marriage has been terminated.

• A man may not marry at the same time two sisters or a mother and her daughter.

• A man who already has four wives may not validly marry a fifth.

• A Muslim man may contract marriage with a non-Muslim woman provided she is a khitabiyah.

• A Muslim woman, on the other hand, may only validly contract marriage with a Muslim man.

• According to the non-Hanafi schools of Sunni law, a marriage concluded by a woman herself without a guardian is also invalid as is a marriage concluded by a person performing haj.

• According to Maliki law, a person who is in a state of death sickness is prohibited from marriage.

Legal Effects of an irregular Marriage

The cohabitation is lawful and the children are legitimate and can inherit the properties of their parents. Mutual rights of inheritance do not arise. After consummation only, can the wife claim dower. The wife does not have to observe Iddat if the marriage is not consummated.

In Ata Mohammed. Saiqul Bibi, 1910 8 ALJ 953, the court observed that when a marriage is temporarilyimpedimental and not completely restricted it is considered as merely irregular of fasid and not void marriage. Because this marriage has several aspects involved and various points of view. The social and legal implication of irregular marriage depends upon that the marriage is consummated or not.

Muta marriage

Muta which refers to as pleasure ,is a temporary marriage which happens for a fixed period of time ,this kind of marriage was prevalent in Arabia and such a marriage is not recognized by any school of Muslim law in India ,it is only recognized by the Itha Asar Shia School ,however the practice and institution of Muta marriage is completely obsolete in India .

The Shia Law recognizes two kinds of marriage, namely

 (1) permanent, and

 (2) muta (literally means enjoyment or use) or temporary. The fundamental difference between the two is that in the former the term is not specified while in the later it is. Sunnis do not recognize such marriage. ‘Muta Marriage is an ancient Arabian custom.

A shia male may contract a muta marriage with kitabia woman (professing Muslim, Christian or

Jewish religion) or even with a woman who is fire-worshiper but not with a woman following

any other religion. But a shia woman may not contract a muta marriage with a non-Muslim.

A Shia male can contract any number of muta marriages. All the requisite formalities of

marriage, such as of offer and acceptance, have to be observed in the muta marriage. It is

essential to the validity of muta marriage that:-

(1) the period of cohabitation should be fixed ( a day, a month, year , years) and that

The essentials of Muta marriage are:- 

(1) The period of cohabitation should be fixed. 

(2) Dower should be fixed.

 (3) If dower specified, term not specified, it could amount to permanent or regular marriage. 

(4) If the term fixed dower is not specified, it amounts to void marriage.

Effects of Muta marriage : 

1. Parties have no right to mutual inheritance 

2. Muta wife is not entitled for maintenance – But if in their contract it is so mentioned then husband is bound to pay or she may file Petition under Sec.125 of Cr.P.C. 

3. If marriage is not consummated, the wife is entitled for half of the dower. Also if the wife leaves husband before the contracted period, she is still entitled for a proportionate dower. 

4. When marriage is consummated, the wife is required to undergo an idda of three months 

5. In muta, husband has the right to refuse procreation Children of muta treated as the legitimate and inherit property of mother only.

 6. Children of muta are treated as the legitimate and inherited property of the mother only.
7. Muta comes to an end after expiry of term, if the husband wants to end it early then by mutual consent , he can do so by making a gift of the remaining term.

Conclusion

Marriage under Muslim law is considered a devotional act. The main purpose of marriage is to create a family which is considered a fundamental unit of society. The Prophet Muhammad has also said Marriage is my tradition and anyone who does not want to marry is not from amongst me. Also, Muslim law treats marriage as a civil contract, all the legal obligations of a contract like a proposal, acceptance, free consent and consideration are followed for a valid marriage. Marriage is classified based on its validity.