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Marriage Under Muslim Law

Muslim Law in India means " that portion of Islamic Civil Law which is applied to Muslims as a personal law". It consists of injunctions of Quran and has been further supplemented and modified by state Legislation and modern judicial precedents of the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India and also of the Privy Council.

Marriage / 'Nikah' according to Muslim Law is a contract underlying a permanent relationship based on mutual consent.

Essential Features

1. A Muslim marriage requires proposal (Ijab) from one party and acceptance (Qubul) from the other as is required for a contract. Moreover there can be no marriage without free consent and such consent should not be obtained by means of coercion, fraud or undue influence.
2. Just as in case of contract, entered by a guardian, on attaining majority, so can a marriage contract in Muslim Law, be set aside by a minor on attaining the age of puberty.
3. The parties to a Muslim marriage may enter into any ante-nuptial or postnuptial agreement which is enforceable by law provided it is reasonable and not opposed to the policy of Islam. Same is the case with a contract.
4. The terms of a marriage contract may also be altered within legal limits to suit individual cases.
5. Although discouraged both by the holy Quran and Hadith, yet like any other contract, there is also provision for the breach of marriage contract.

Requirements

The solomonisation of marriage requires adherence to certain forms and formulas. They are called the essentials of a valid marriage. If any of these requirements is not fulfilled the marriage becomes either void or irregular, as the case may be. Thus the essentials are as follows:

1. Proposal and Acceptance
2. Competent parties
3. No legal Disability

Procedure

Competent Parties & Legal Disabilities

Polygamy Under Muslim Marriage Law India