One important purpose of the contract is to make sexual intercourse legal. The marriage contract somewhat resembles the marriage settlements once negotiated for upper-class Western brides, but can extend to non-financial matters usually ignored by marriage settlements or pre-nuptial agreements. She either gives back the dowry (mahr) or does not, depending on the reason for divorce. The wife has the right to initiate divorce, it is called khula. The marriage contract can also specify where the couple will live, whether or not the first wife will allow the husband to take a second wife without her consent. The contract may also be used to regulate the couple's physical relationship, if needed.
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Type and content Part of a series onĪmong the stipulations that can be included in the marriage contract include giving up, or demanding, certain responsibilities. This period of abstinence and being single allows for the father, if the wife was pregnant before the divorce, to know if the unborn child belongs to them or not. The lifestyles men and women go through following a divorce are very different, women must participate in a period of abstinence and remain single for a period of time. The Quran states that you should love your husband or wife, however, divorce is not forbidden. The current status of marriage in Islam, however, is seen at equal and fair to both men and women and signals the start of family. Prior to the Advent of Islam, men were allowed to marry or divorce whenever they pleased leading to a number of problems within the society.
The rights of women proceeding the Advent of Islam as changed drastically to where they stand in society in the twenty first century. Over the years women have been granted a say in the marriage contract between her and her husband and the inequality that was strung over the heads of women has now been abolished. This agreement of marriage was between the guardian (typically the father) of the bride and the husband, women were seen to be silenced during these transactions because her consent wasn't heard. Prior to the thirteenth century, oftentimes, women did not have a say in who they were going to marry. However, if a Muslim wedding is held in a mosque, then a marriage officiant, known as qadi, qazi or madhun ( Arabic: مأذون), may preside over the wedding.
In Sunni Islam, there is no official clergy, so any Muslim who understands the Islamic tradition can be the official for the wedding. Marriages are usually not held in mosques, (depending on the country and culture of both where the marriage happens and the parties involved) because typically men and women are separated during the ceremony and reception. It is also believed that temporary marriage, or Nikah Mut'ah (a type of contract which had more relaxed requirements) was prohibited in Sunni Islam, the necessity of witnessing was introduced by Sunni caliphs, specifically Umar, to ensure that no couples engaged in secret union. In Shia Islam, witnesses to a marriage are deemed necessary, but in case are not available then the two parties may conduct the nikah between themselves. Proper witnessing is critical to the validation of the marriage, also acting as a protection against suspicions of adulterous relationships. In Sunni Islam, a marriage contract must have at least two witnesses.