Islamic marital jurisprudence

In Islamic law (sharia), marriage (zawaj زواج) is a legal and social contract between a man and a woman. Islam is totally opposed to monasticism and celibacy. Marriage is an act of Sunnah in Islam and is strongly recommended; the age of marriage being whenever the individuals feel ready, financially and emotionally.Polygyny is permitted in Islam under some conditions, but polyandry is forbidden.

Nikah (Arabic: نكاح, literally, "to collect and bind together") is the first—and most common—form of marriage for Muslims. It is described in the Qur'an in Surah 4:4.

Regulations:

If an agreed end-date is specified in the Nikah contract:

Requirement of witnesses:

Permission from Wali:

Nikah mut‘ah (Arabic: نكاح متعة, temporary marriage), often referred as fixed-time marriage. Many of these marriages have a time limit, and is the second form of marriage, and is referred to in Al-Qur'an in Surah An-Nisa ayat 24, 4:24("اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ"). There is controversy on the Islamic legality of this type of marriage, since Sunnis believe it was abrogated by Muhammad, while Shi'ia hold to Al-Qur'an and the ruling of Imam Ali (a.s.) that it is lawful in which he said "The first to ban Mut'ah was Omar" and "Were it not for Omar banning Mut'ah only the sickest people would commit fornication." Nikah mut‘ah has a preset time period to the marriage which is stated during the initiation of the contract. Traditionally the couple do not inherit from each other. The man usually is not responsible for the economic welfare of the woman and she usually may leave her home at her own discretion. For these reasons Sunnis frequently compare this type of marriage to adultery or prostitution. Nikah mut‘ah also does not count toward a maximum of wives (four according to the Qur'an). However, similar to normal marriages that are common among Sunnis and Shi'ias, the woman still is given her mahr,and the woman must still observe the iddah, a period of time (exact time is debated but is between 2 and 4.5 months) where the woman cannot remarry. This is to ensure that there is no pregnancy from the ex-husband and thus clarifies paternal lineage.

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