Importance Of Muslim Marriage Essay

“Marriage is my sunnah. Whosoever keeps away from it is not from me”

This hadith by prophet Mohammad shows how the institution of marriage receives great importance in the Islamic religion.

In the Muslim community marriages is universal, Islam makes marriage compulsory, and it discourages celibacy. Quran the holy book of Muslims governs the marriage laws.

Marriage is considered a secular bond between two people among the Muslims. The important objectives of Muslim marriage are – control over sex, ordering of domestic life, procreation of children, and perceptual increase of family and upbringing of children. Muslim marriage is a valid contract and it posses all the essentials of a contract provided by the Indian contract act.

According to S.C. Sarkar “marriage among Muslims is not a sacrament but purely a civil contract.”

Marriage is also an act of ‘Ibadat’. It is believed that a person who is married is rewarded in the next world, and he who does not, commits a sin.

The characteristic features of a Muslim marriage are:

1. Marriage is a civil contract, a proposal for the marriage and the acceptance of the proposal is essential. The bridegroom makes the proposal (Ijab) to the bride before the marriage ceremony in the presence of two witnesses and a Maulvi. The acceptance is called ‘Qubul’.

2. Only adult persons of sound mind can enter into a marriage contract. Child marriages and marriages of people of unsound mind are not recognized.

3. It is a tradition among Muslims to marry people of equal standing. The runaway marriages called Kifa are not recognized

4. Muslim marriage can be called Sahi Niqah (valid marriage) only if it is not against ‘Sharia’.

Marriages which are contrary to the Islamic rules are called ‘invalid or void...

... middle of paper ...

... Lian – In this type of divorce the husband accuses the wife of being guilty of adultery. This gives the wife an opportunity to go to the court insisting on the husband either to withdraw such an allegation or prove the same.

Divorce as per the Muslim Marriage Dissolution Act, 1959. It entitled a Muslim woman to seek the dissolution of her marriage on the following grounds.

1. Whereabouts of husband not known for four years.

2. Failure of husband to provide for her maintenance for seven years or more.

3. Imprisonment of husband for seven year or more.

4. Impotency of the husband since the time of marriage.

5. Failure of husband to fulfill martial obligations for three years.

6. Insanity of husband for a period of two years and husband’s incurable disease.

7. Husband’s mental and physical cruelty.

8. Marriage being thursted upon her before she attained fifteen years.