نكاح معاطاتي

Mu`atat Marriage

The compliance (ijab) and acceptance (qabu.l) are two basic elements of Islamic transactions and contracts. There are two kinds of acceptance and compliance: verbal and in act or actual ones. The latter is called Mu`atat. Muslim Jurists (fuqaha) hold that many Islamic contracts and transactions are concluded either verbally or in act (Mu`atat). The issue of marriage (bib al- nikah) pertains to the section of contracts in the Islamic law books. It means that the conclusion of marriage (nikah) needs both compliance and acceptance. One may raise the question of whether the conclusion of a marriage be fulfilled without a verbal contract. In other words, can a contract in act (Mu`atat) replace the verbal one in marriage? The present article discusses the juridical principles and arguments of the abovementioned question. First of all, it brings out the views of the main Shiite and Sunnite jurists on the validity of a verbal contract to fullfil a marriage. It proposes the juristsʹ reasons against marriage in act (nikah - i Mu`atat ). Secondly, it criticizes the evidence and arguments that are used to prove the validity of Mu`atat marriage . The writer hopes that all juridical researches and juristsʹ innovations will he supported by scholarly evidence and juridical reasons, Again, it is expected that religious scholars avoid expressing views that are not in accordance with the principles of individual inquiry into legal matters.