What makes a nikah valid?

The five conditions

IslamWeb sets these out consistently across its rulings (fatwas 1766, 30561, 58250), and they are what you should check first.

1. The two spouses are identified.

The guardian cannot say "I marry you to my daughter" when he has several. Each party must be named, or described in a way that fits only one person — "the elder" or "the younger."

2. Both parties consent.

Neither the man nor the woman may be forced. Ibn Uthaymin, in Liqa' al-Bab al-Maftuh, is emphatic that a father who compels his son or daughter into a marriage is committing something forbidden, and that a marriage contracted under compulsion is not valid — the woman does not become lawful to a husband she was forced to accept. If she later agrees, the safe course is to renew the contract.

3. The guardian conducts the contract.

This is the condition the scholars stress most, and it rests on the Prophet's ﷺ words:

"There is no marriage except with a guardian."— Sunan Abi Dawud, from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari

And:

"Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid."— Sunan Abi Dawud 2083, from Aisha, graded sahih by al-Suyuti and al-Albani

A woman does not conduct her own contract, even if she is mature, previously married, or highly capable — Ibn Uthaymin notes that the negation "no marriage except with a guardian" is a negation of validity, not merely of perfection. This is the position of the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools; the Hanafi school holds that an adult woman of sound mind may contract her own marriage, though her guardian may object to an unsuitable match. The guardian may appoint an agent (wakil) to act for him, and the groom may likewise appoint one.

4. Two upright Muslim witnesses are present.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

"There is no marriage except with a guardian and two just witnesses."— Sahih Ibn Hibban, from 'A'ishah

The witnesses need not share any particular nationality; it is enough that they are Muslim and of good character (IslamWeb, fatwa 112536).

5. Neither party has an impediment.

No blood relationship, no foster relationship through nursing, no relationship by marriage, no unlawful difference of religion, and neither party in a waiting period (iddah) or in a state of pilgrimage consecration. A Muslim man may marry a chaste woman of the People of the Book as an exception to the religious-difference rule.

The contract itself

The ijab is the word from the guardian or his agent — "I marry you to so-and-so," "I give her to you in marriage." The qabul is the word from the groom or his agent — "I accept this marriage." Once these occur, the contract is concluded (al-Tuwaijri, Mawsu'ah al-Fiqh al-Islami).

Al-Tuwaijri adds that the offer and acceptance must be in Arabic for anyone able to speak it; someone unable to do so contracts in his own language, since what matters in contracts is the meaning. A mute person contracts by a sign that is understood, and an absent party may contract through an agent or by letter.

What is not required

Several things people assume are necessary are not conditions of validity at all:

• Written registration. IslamWeb (fatwa 177023) is explicit: documentation and its procedures, important as they are, are not a condition of validity. The contract that counts is the one between the guardian or his agent and the groom or his agent. Writing is for securing rights (fatwa 30561).
• The official marriage officer (ma'dhun). Not required. It is enough that the offer and acceptance occur between the two sides with the witnesses present (fatwa 112536).
• Reciting al-Fatihah at the contract. IslamWeb (fatwa 58250) calls this a later innovation.
• Naming the dowry (mahr). The contract is valid even if no dowry is mentioned at all (fatwa 177023). The dowry remains the wife's right; if none was specified and the marriage was consummated, she is entitled to the dowry of her peers (fatwa 58250).
• Public announcement. Recommended, not obligatory (fatwa 112536).

The guardian's order

Where the father is absent, guardianship passes down a known order. Al-Hajjawi, in al-Iqna', lists it: the father, then the paternal grandfather however far up, then the son, then the brother, then the brother through the father, then their sons, then the paternal uncle, then his sons, then the nearest male relative on the father's side in the order of inheritance. Ibn Uthaymin notes that relatives through a female line — a maternal uncle, a brother through the mother, a grandfather on the mother's side — have no guardianship at all.

If no guardian and no Muslim authority can be found, a just man may marry her with her consent, following what Ibn Qudamah reports from Ahmad in al-Mughni (IslamWeb, fatwa 114807).

Common mistakes

• Treating a private agreement as a marriage. A contract lacking the guardian and the witnesses is not valid, however sincere the couple's intentions. Good intention does not repair a contract missing its conditions (fatwa 112536).
• Assuming registration creates the marriage. It does not; it protects rights.
• Forcing a child into a marriage. Ibn Uthaymin treats this as forbidden and the resulting contract as invalid.
• Believing the guardian's consent can be bypassed because the couple agree. It cannot.

Key takeaways

• Five conditions make a nikah valid: identified spouses, mutual consent, the guardian's contract, two upright Muslim witnesses, and freedom from impediments.
• The contract is the offer from the guardian and the acceptance from the groom — spoken, understood, and witnessed.
• Civil registration is not a condition of validity, though it is strongly advised for protecting rights.
• A marriage without a guardian is invalid, even if the woman is mature and willing — in the view of the majority; the Hanafis differ.
• A forced marriage is invalid; if the woman later consents, renew the contract to be safe.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni
• Ibn Uthaymin, al-Sharh al-Mumti'
• Al-Tuwaijri, Mawsu'ah al-Fiqh al-Islami

And Allah knows best.