The marriage contract: ijab and qabul

1The status of the contract and its pillars

A marriage becomes valid through the akad (contract) — an agreement sealed with ijab (offer) and qabul (acceptance). The Qur'an calls marriage "a solemn covenant" (mithaqan ghaliza, Surah an-Nisa' 4:21). According to the Shafi'i school, marriage has five pillars:

1. The husband — Muslim, specified (not "one of two men"), not a mahram, not in ihram, and not currently with four wives.
2. The wife — specified, not a mahram, not in ʿiddah or another marriage.
3. Wali — see The marriage wali.
4. Two witnesses.
5. Sighah — the wording of ijab and qabul.

The mahr is not a pillar of the contract: the marriage is valid even if the mahr is not mentioned, and the wife is entitled to a customary mahr (mahr misil) (see Mahr). However, mentioning the mahr in the contract is sunat and is the practice in Malaysia.

2The wording of ijab and qabul

The ijab (offer) is pronounced by the wali or his proxy; the qabul (acceptance) by the groom or his proxy. According to the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, the wording must use the word nikah or tazwij (marriage) or a translation of it. The Hanafis and Malikis also accept other wording conveying permanent ownership such as hibah or tamlik, under certain conditions (the Malikis require the mahr to be mentioned if the word hibah is used).

• Sample ijab (wali): "I marry you to my daughter [name] with a mahr of RM[amount] in cash."
• Sample ijab (proxy/marriage officiant): "I marry you to [name binti father's name], whose father has appointed me as his proxy wali, with a mahr of RM[amount] in cash."
• Sample qabul: "I accept the marriage of [name] with a mahr of RM[amount] in cash." A short qabul such as "I accept her marriage" is also valid according to the stronger view in the Shafi'i school.

Conditions of the wording (Shafi'i):

• Explicit (sarih) — allusive wording (kinayah) is not valid, because the witnesses must understand what is meant.
• Unconditional and permanent — not suspended on a future condition ("if he passes, I will marry her to you") and not time-limited. Fixed-term marriage (nikah mutʿah) and a stipulated tahlil marriage are void according to the majority.
• Matching — the qabul must accept what was offered: the same woman and, if mentioned, the same mahr. Small differences in wording do not invalidate it as long as the meaning is the same.
• The qabul may come first, for example the groom says "Marry me to your daughter" and the wali replies "I marry you..." — valid according to the Shafi'is.

3Ittisal (continuity) and a single sitting

The ijab and qabul must be continuous (ittisal) and take place in a single sitting (ittihad al-majlis):

• Shafi'i: the qabul must follow the ijab immediately. A long silence or unrelated speech breaks the continuity, and the contract must be repeated. A brief pause to breathe or because of a cough does not affect it.
• Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali: more lenient — the qabul is valid as long as it is in the same sitting and the parties have not turned to other matters, even if there is a pause.
• The ijab is void if the wali withdraws it before the qabul, or if one of the parties loses capacity (for example by fainting) before the qabul.

The single-sitting condition is meant to ensure that both parties and the witnesses witness one complete contract — not an offer made at one time and accepted at another without the witnesses knowing.

4The language of the contract

• Shafi'i (the soundest view), Hanbali and Hanafi: the contract is valid in any language understood by both parties and the witnesses, even if they are able to speak Arabic. There is a view in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools requiring Arabic for those able, but it is not the view followed in practice.
• What matters is that the wali, the husband and the witnesses understand the meaning of the words spoken. If the groom does not understand Malay, the contract can be made in English or his mother tongue, with a marriage officiant and witnesses who understand it, or with an interpreter.
• A person who cannot speak may contract by understandable signs, or in writing, according to all four schools with their respective details; it is better to appoint someone else as proxy.

5Proxies in the contract

Both parties may appoint a proxy according to all four schools:

• The wali's proxy: common practice in Malaysia — the father appoints an authorised marriage officiant or imam. The proxy is bound by the appointment: the same groom and the same mahr.
• The husband's proxy (tawkil fi al-qabul): valid when the groom cannot attend, for example because he is abroad. The proxy says: "I accept the marriage of [name] for [husband's name] with a mahr of...". In Malaysia, a proxy qabul usually requires the approval of the Registrar or the religious affairs office and a certified letter of appointment — refer to the state procedure.
• A proxy may not be a witness to the same contract, because he stands in the position of a contracting party.
• According to the Shafi'is, one person may not represent both parties at once (for example as proxy for the wali and proxy for the husband), except a grandfather marrying his grandson to his granddaughter. The Hanafis allow one person to represent both parties.

6Witnesses: conditions, number and differences between schools

It is narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: "There is no marriage except with a wali and two upright witnesses" (narrated by Ibn Hibban, al-Daraqutni and al-Bayhaqi; graded sahih by Ibn Hibban). According to the Shafi'i school, the witnesses must be:

1. Two men.
2. Muslim, having reached puberty, of sound mind and free.
3. Upright — at least outwardly upright (mastur al-'adalah); this suffices according to the relied-upon view.
4. Hear and understand the words of the contract; according to the soundest view, also see (a blind person is not a valid witness).
5. Not the wali or proxy making the contract.

7Contracts by video or online

This issue arose especially from the COVID-19 pandemic and for couples living far apart. The main debate concerns the condition of a single sitting and the ability of the witnesses to see and hear the contracting parties with certainty.

• The view that does not permit it: Majma' al-Fiqh al-Islami (the OIC Fiqh Academy), in its resolution on contracts through modern means of communication (Resolution 52 (3/6), 1990), excluded the marriage contract from that general permission because of the requirement of witnesses. Many scholars hold that a virtual sitting is not the same as a real one, and there is a risk of impersonation and editing.
• The view that permits it with conditions: some contemporary scholars regard a live video call as a constructive sitting (majlis hukmi): the wali, husband and witnesses see and hear one another in real time, identities are verified, and the wording is continuous. Some of them require the witnesses to be physically with one of the parties.
• The way agreed to be valid: appointing a proxy — for either the wali or the husband — who is physically present at the contract. This avoids the virtual-sitting issue entirely.

The position in Malaysia: during the Movement Control Order, some state religious authorities reportedly allowed video contracts on a limited basis with the approval and supervision of the Registrar, while others postponed ceremonies or used proxies. There is no national muzakarah decision permitting online contracts as normal practice (to be verified). Positions differ by state — check with the state Islamic Religious Affairs Office before planning.

8Adab and order of the contract ceremony

1. Document check by the marriage officiant: permission to marry, consent forms, identity cards, and for polygyny, the Syariah Court's permission order.
2. Confirmation of the bride's consent and verification of the wali (or the authorisation of the wali's proxy / wali hakim).
3. The marriage sermon (sunat) — usually the khutbah al-hajah taught by the Prophet ﷺ (narrated by Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah; sahih), containing Surah Ali 'Imran 3:102, an-Nisa' 4:1 and al-Ahzab 33:70–71.
4. Ijab and qabul in front of two witnesses.
5. The taʿliq wording (in Malaysia) — read and signed by the husband; see Conditions & taʿliq.
6. Du'a — the Prophet ﷺ prayed for the newly-weds: "Barakallahu laka wa baraka 'alaika wa jama'a bainakuma fi khair" (narrated by Abu Dawud 2130 and at-Tirmidhi 1091; sahih).
7. Handing over the mahr and signing of the register by the husband, wali, witnesses and marriage officiant.

Customs such as "breaking the ablution", putting on the ring and the bersanding ceremony are permissible as long as there is nothing objectionable, but they are not part of the contract.

9Registration after the contract

In Malaysia, the contract must be solemnised by an authorised registrar or marriage officiant, and the marriage must be registered under state Islamic family law. In general:

• The details of the contract — names of the parties, wali, witnesses, mahr and gifts, and the taʿliq — are entered in the Marriage Register immediately after the contract and signed by the parties.
• The couple receive a Marriage Certificate and a Marriage Card from the religious affairs office once registration has been processed.
• A marriage of a Malaysian resident abroad must be registered within the prescribed period (Act 303 s.31 and equivalent provisions in the states) — see Marriage abroad.
• A contract made without permission or outside the procedure may be submitted to the Syariah Court for validation; the court examines the wali, witnesses and wording before ordering registration, and the parties may be penalised under state enactments.
• For polygyny, a marriage without the court's permission cannot be registered except after court proceedings (Act 303 s.23 and s.123, and equivalent provisions).

Sources & references