Marriage in Islam

In Islamic law, marriage – or more specifically, the marriage contract – is called nikah (Arabic: نِكَاح, romanized: nikāḥ, lit. 'sex'). It is a contract between a man and woman, with rights and obligations for each,^[1] with rules on consent, financial obligations, and the treatment of partners, developed (according to Islamic sources) from the Quran, (the holy book of Islam) and hadith (the passed down saying and doings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad).

In addition to the requirement that a formal, binding contract of rights and responsibilities – either verbal or on paper^[2] – be drawn up, there are a number of other rules for marriage in Islam: among them that there be witnesses to the marriage, a gift from the groom to the bride known as a mahr, that both the groom and the bride freely consent to the marriage; that the groom be married to no more than four women (a practice known as polygyny), that the women be married to no more than one man. Divorce is permitted in Islam and can take a variety of forms, some executed by a husband personally and some executed by a religious court on behalf of a plaintiff wife who is successful in her legal divorce petition for valid cause.

In addition to the usual marriage intended for raising families, there are a few types of marriages in Islam that lack some requirement customarily present. Fixed-term marriages — known as zawāj al-mut'ah, "temporary marriage"^[3]^: 1045 — is permitted only by the Twelver branch of Shia Islam.^[4]^[5]^: 242^[6] Nikah Misyar, lacks some conditions such as living together, and is permitted by some Sunni Islamic scholars;^[7]^[8]^[9] Nikah 'urfi or "customary" marriage are marriages not officially registered with state authorities.

^ "Marriage in Islam". explore-Islam.com. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
^ "Getting Married". Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
^ Wehr, Hans. Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic: a compact version of the internationally recognized fourth edition. Ed. JM Cowan. New York: Spoken Language Services, Inc., 1994. Archived 2017-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. Print.
^ Berg, H. "Method and theory in the study of Islamic origins". Archived 2016-05-09 at the Wayback Machine Brill 2003 ISBN 9004126023, 9789004126022. Accessed at Google Books 15 March 2014.
^ Hughes, T. "A Dictionary of Islam." Archived 2016-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Asian Educational Services 1 December 1995. Accessed 15 April 2014.
^ Pohl, F. "Muslim world: modern Muslim societies". Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine Marshall Cavendish, 2010. ISBN 0761479279, 1780761479277. pp. 47–53.
^ "Misyar now a widespread reality". Arab News. 12 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. In a misyar marriage the woman waives some of the rights she would enjoy in a normal marriage. Most misyar brides don't change their residences but pursue marriage on a visitation basis.
^ Elhadj, Elie (2006). The Islamic Shield: Arab Resistance to Democratic and Religious Reforms. Universal Publishers. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-59942-411-8.
^ "Misyar Marriage". Al-Raida (92–99). Beirut University College, Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World: 58. 2001.

[explore-Islam.com-1] "Marriage in Islam". explore-Islam.com. Retrieved 28 April 2025.

[nikah101-2] "Getting Married". Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-04.

[Wehr-compact-1994-1045-3] Wehr, Hans. Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic: a compact version of the internationally recognized fourth edition. Ed. JM Cowan. New York: Spoken Language Services, Inc., 1994. Archived 2017-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. Print.

[IslamicOrigins-4] Berg, H. "Method and theory in the study of Islamic origins". Archived 2016-05-09 at the Wayback Machine Brill 2003 ISBN 9004126023, 9789004126022. Accessed at Google Books 15 March 2014.

[IslamDictionary-5] Hughes, T. "A Dictionary of Islam." Archived 2016-04-23 at the Wayback Machine Asian Educational Services 1 December 1995. Accessed 15 April 2014.

[Pohl_(2010)-6] Pohl, F. "Muslim world: modern Muslim societies". Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine Marshall Cavendish, 2010. ISBN 0761479279, 1780761479277. pp. 47–53.

[7] "Misyar now a widespread reality". Arab News. 12 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. In a misyar marriage the woman waives some of the rights she would enjoy in a normal marriage. Most misyar brides don't change their residences but pursue marriage on a visitation basis.

[8] Elhadj, Elie (2006). The Islamic Shield: Arab Resistance to Democratic and Religious Reforms. Universal Publishers. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-59942-411-8.

[9] "Misyar Marriage". Al-Raida (92–99). Beirut University College, Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World: 58. 2001.

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