How to Make a Civil Marriage Islamically Valid?

23 November, 2019

Q As-salamu `alaykum. A man used to have a sexual relationship with a woman (either Christian or Jew) without being bound by an Islamic marriage contract. He later entered into marriage with her by virtue of a civil marriage contract after which they had a baby daughter. He now wishes to ratify an Islamic legal marriage contract. May we write such a contract? If the answer is yes, what must we do prior to the ratification of the contract?

Answer

Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

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

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

1- This man can write this contract as an accreditation of the civil marriage that has been consummated.

2- He should repent to Allah Almighty seeking His forgiveness for what he had committed.

In responding to the question about Islamic accreditation of the civil marriage, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) states:

Yes, he may write such a contract that will act as an accreditation of the civil marriage contract which was previously ratified.

The ruling applies if the civil contract has fulfilled all legal requirements. The contract he will write must be dated similarly to the civil contract.

It is preferable to have witnesses to testify the correctness and authenticity of the contract.

There is no need to renew the civil contract of marriage if it has fulfilled all legal requirements.

Before the contract is made, the couple should repent to Allah Almighty and ask for His forgiveness for what they committed prior to the civil marriage contract being ratified.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.