Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Can a widow re-marry without having any witnesses?

· 2 Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1435 AH1 min readFatwa 30375English

Question

is it true that a widow can re-marry without witnesses.

the man she intends to marry is already married. both are sunni muslims.

Answer

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

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

It is a prerequisite for the validity of a marriage to have two witnesses present to witness the exchange of the proposal and acceptance of the marriage[1]. If there are no two witnesses, the marriage will be invalid. Accordingly, the widow cannot marry without two witnesses witnessing the marriage.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Immad Bin Arshad

Student Darul Iftaa
California, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1] المبسوط للسرخسي (5/ 30)

(قَالَ:) بَلَغَنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «لَا نِكَاحَ إلَّا بِشُهُودٍ» وَبِهِ أَخَذَ عُلَمَاؤُنَا رَحِمَهُمْ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى

العناية شرح الهداية (3/ 199)

قَالَ (وَلَا يَنْعَقِدُ نِكَاحُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ إلَّا بِحُضُورِ شَاهِدَيْنِ حُرَّيْنِ عَاقِلَيْنِ بَالِغَيْنِ مُسْلِمَيْنِ أَوْ رَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَيْنِ عُدُولًا كَانُوا أَوْ غَيْرَ عُدُولٍ) أَمَّا اشْتِرَاطُ الشَّهَادَةِ فَلِقَوْلِهِ - عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ - «لَا نِكَاحَ إلَّا بِشُهُودٍ»

مجمع الأنهر في شرح ملتقى الأبحر (1/ 320)

(وَ) شُرِطَ أَيْضًا (حُضُورُ) شَاهِدَيْنِ

لا ينعقد نكاح المسلمين الا بحضور شاهدين(اللباب في شرح الكتاب ج4 ص6)

Answered by
Immad Bin Arshad
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
View original Compare with other Darul Iftas
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue

For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.

Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/30375
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-30375

Related fatawa