Question:
i have a scenario to which i request answers please.
All praise is to Allah the lord of the worlds, to whom I submit to seek forgiveness from.
During my days of ignorance I met a woman who ofcourse was not lawful for me. Till Islam entered into to my heart she was still apart of my life we wanted to get married. I told my family about her and they met her and they agreed to me marrying her but only IF her parents was to accept the proposal. But her parents did not accept me did not want this proposal. We both tried to persuade her family but it simply did not work. After a year, may Allah forgive us, we decided to go to an Imaam and get our nikkah done. the imaam acted as her Wali and married her off to me. when imam asked us about the situation we LIED, we told him that she was no longer in contact with her family. so the imam on that basis acted as her wali and performed the nikkah. Now it has been 8months, and she has been living with her family, and i have been living with my family, and no one knows about us being married. Now the problem and question i want to ask is if this marriage is valid? as we have not been staying together for the past 8 months and also because we LIED to the imam and we have been lying to everyone. what can be done? Jazak Allahu Khayran.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Brother in Islam,
In principle, Shariah permits an adult woman to make her independent choice in marriage, if the person she is marrying is a suitable match(kufw) for her. If your Nikah was performed in the presence of two male Muslim witnesses then the conditions were fulfilled and your Nikah will be valid. The Mahr(dowry) will be binding upon the husband.
Your separation of eight months does not impact on the Nikah. The Nikah remained intact.
Lying however is indeed a grave sin, The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
وإن الكذب يهدي إلى الفجور، وإن الفجور يهدي إلى النار
“Indeed lying leads to immorality, and immorality leads to the hellfire.”(AlBukhari 6094)
Sincere Tawbah and repentance to Allah Ta’ala must be made and a firm intention to permanently abandon such lies. However, these factors will not invalidate the Nikah.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Arshad Ali
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)
