['Aalim Network QR] Nikah - Various issues

[workshop@dircon.co.uk (Ummulbanin)]

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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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Assalamu 'Alaykum

The following questions were kindly answered by Shaykh Mustafa Jaffer.

Salaams
Ummulbanin Merali - Acting Moderator - 'Aalim network
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QUESTION:

Can the man and women perform the Nikah just by themselves with nobody
else present?

ANSWER:

Yes, provided they fulfil the conditions of Nikah i.e. Parent's permission
where applicable, recitation in proper Arabic language, etc..

Question:
What must you agree upon before the nikah is valid .. e.g.bride gift,
divorce settlement, who has the right of divorce etc..

Answer:
Mahr (dowry or bride gift) has to be agreed upon before the Nikah is
started. Moreover, there can be any number of conditions put in by either
party as long as the condition does not contradict the very concept of
marriage like denying conjugal rights..
An interesting point I would like to make is that women, who normally are
not allowed to initiate a divorce, can do so if they mention it as a
condition before marriage. Other conditions like whether to stay with inlaws
or not etc etc can be clarified before the recitation of Nikah.

Question: 
Why is the sunni marriage ceremony invalid.  As my family are all sunni and
i am not be able to tell them i have converted to shit'e, I would most
probably have to have a sunni nikah - performed by a sunni imam -  if it
were to be performed in front of them, is this therefore invalid and what
must i do .. perform another nikah in the shit'e method ??

Answer:
A Sunni marriage is not necessarily invalid. I do not know which sect you
are referring to, but if the Sunni marriage fulfils the conditions in the
recitation of the Nikah which are basically for the bride (or the bride's
rep) to say "ZAWWAJTU" (I have given myself in marriage) and the groom (or
his rep) to say "QABILTU" (I have accepted). As long as this format in the
recitation of Nikah is maintained, it is not necessary that this must be
recited by a Shiah.

However, if you are unsure of the whole process, then the recitation can be
done again by Shia Aalims (no witnesses necessary - not even the presence of
the bride and groom necessary)

Wallaahu A'alam

Mustafa

PS: Refer Al-Fiqh Alaa Mazahibal Khamsa by Sh Jawad Al-Mughniyyah Kitab Al-Nikah