Fatwa

Online nikah

Question

Aoa

I have been talking to a girl online for 2 years now. One of us is Palestinian and the other is Pakistani. We wanna do an online nikah to make it halal. Our parents won’t allow that. The rules for online nikah in Hanafi madhab suggest the guy needs to be earning enough to take care of the girl which I don’t do yet.I(21) am a student and she(25) can earn enough for herself for now. Both of us are hafiz, religious and have a good social standing and we don’t want to be like this permanently. We’ll tell them when I earn enough and can afford a family InshaaALLAH.I am looking for a part time job with studies but realistically it’ll take a few years till I can earn enough. Would the nikah be halal in such case?Jazakallah

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

There is no rule in the Hanafi madhab which says that a man needs to be earning enough in order to get married.

For practical purposes, this statement appears logical, as when a man gets married, he will be required to firstly pay the mahr (immediate or on terms), and secondly and more importantly, maintain a wife and a home. If due to circumstances a couple is happy to get married without such a commitment, the marriage is still valid.

As for online nikah specifically, a valid nikah requires that the groom, the wife and two male witnesses are all physically in the same majlis at the time of conducting the nikah. If one wants to do an online nikah, then either the bride or groom must appoint a wakeel/representative who will speak on his/her behalf whilst in the same majlis as the two witnesses and the other spouse. The absent spouse will be on video call. In this manner, the actual nikah will be conducted between one spouse, a representative of the other spouse, and two witnesses.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Bilal Pandor

Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel

Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia

www.daruliftaazambia.com