Can the marriage be concluded by the husband saying: "I come willing to marry."?

14-8-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

I approached a girl for marriage, and I said: ''I am willing to marry with such and such according to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.'' Then her father said: ''We agree and we marry her off to you.'' The Faatihah (opening chapter of the Quran) was read and the dowry was determined as well as the day or authenticating the contract on papers. The next day, her father came with some unacceptable conditions, so I just left. So, is this girl considered my wife so that I must divorce her, or should I just forget the matter (if she is not my wife)?

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Answer:

All Perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as that of his family and all his companions.

 

If you meant by your statement: "I come willing to marry.", that you wanted to marry right then, then marriage took place, and in this case, if you want to separate from her, you are obliged to divorce her. However, if you meant by your statement: "I come willing to marry.", to do so in the future and not right then, then marriage did not take place; so there is no need for divorce because the marriage contract did not take place unless you said to her guardian "I accept to marry her." after he said: "We agree and we marry her off to you."

Finally, we advise you to take the case to an Islamic court in your country.

Allaah Knows best.