The Effect of the Absence of Witnessing on the Marriage Contract - A Sharia and Legal Study -

Abstract

The marriage contract is regarded as one of the most serious contracts and one of the most consequential in the life of the individual and society. For this reason, the Sharia has surrounded it with a set of safeguards that ensure its protection and preserve its objectives, foremost among them witnessing it. The jurists unanimously agreed as to its legitimacy, though they differed regarding its legal ruling and the extent to which it is considered a condition for the validity of the contract.
This study seeks to address a number of issues connected with witnessing in the marriage contract. Its central problem revolves around clarifying its Sharia ruling, the conditions of the witnesses, the extent to which public announcement may suffice in its place, and the Sharia and legal effects resulting from its absence before consummation and after consummation.
These issues have been addressed in two integrated chapters: the first is devoted to the conceptual framework, dealing with the definition of the marriage contract and clarifying the concept of witnessing therein; while the second chapter examines the conditions of witnessing, the rulings relating to its absence, and its effects.