['Aalim Network QR] Witnesses for Marriage

["Akil M. Karim" <amk@io.org>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun `Alaykum

The following question was kindly answered by Shaykh Mustafa.


Fee Amaanillah,

Akil Karim
Acting Moderator for 'Aalim Network

---------- Forwarded message ----------

QUESTION:

Straight to the point...I just convert to Shia last year.Before I was a
sunni moslem. I am following Ayat.Seestani's taqlid.My question is...is
it true that in Shia Marriages there is no witness as you may know you
have to have two witnessess in a Sunni marriage(Mazhab Shafiee)? Is it
done (as what I understood in Ayat. Seestani's Risalah) only by having
the marriage contract read by the woman? Because we can read arabic so
there is no need for us to have any representative. If this is true then
can we get married with the required mahr? For your knowledge we come
from a sunni country somewhere in South east asia. We are afraid if we go
back and do it there we wolud have to do it the Sunni way which is in
Shia is invalid. That is why we want to do it overseas so that when we
get back we can do Taqiya'. 

Please answer this as soon as possible as time is running out...may Allah
and the Prophet and his Household bless you always. p/s in our country
being a shia is considered to be a crime that is why we do taqiya... 


ANSWER:

It is absolutely true, as you read in Ay Seestani's Resalah, that there
are no witnesses required for performing Nikah or Muta. However,
witnesses are required for Talaq. You will notice the opposite trend in
the sunnis where witnesses are required for Nikah and not for Talaq. 

Wallaahu A'alam,

Mustafa