All marriages in Islam are contractual in nature and come with a set of rules, depending on the requirements and circumstances. This was the need of time back in the day as men were away from their homes and families for days and months owing to wars, trade activities or simply to loot caravans.  Additionally men had the onus to keep expanding the tribe called Islam in whichever manner they could.  It should also be noted that slave girls and boys were utilized under separate verbal agreements and were never a part of Islamic marriages.  These were only valid for ‘free’people.

1. Nikah – The more common way of getting married among Muslims. It is a contract which both parties sign to enter into marriage. It is a prenuptial agreement which can be extensively used by either side to decide on matter of property division during and after marriage, about the responsibilities of the wife in household matters as well as in looking after children, and more importantly what will happen in the event of the couple getting divorced, who will keep what. The contract also specifies the amount of “Mehr” which is once again to be paid by the husband to the wife. There are 2 kinds of Mehr – Moajjal (Prompt) and Mawajjal (Deferred). Mehr e Muwajjal has to be paid to the wife before the marriage is consummated, and Mawajjal can be demanded by the wife at any time during the marriage. If the husband convinces the wife that he will pay the Moajjal part at a later date, the wife can deny him sex until he does so. In most cases, the Molvi and relatives from both sides make the Nikah contact favourable towards the groom, not giving the wife any rights towards the children or property division in the case of a divorce. Most importantly, the clause about the woman taking Talaq (not Khula) on her own is cut out from the form altogether. Women usually are not given the contract to read and comment on, and are just expected to blindly sign on it

  1. Nikah e Muta (Shia contractual marriage): Nikah e Muta is a contractual marriage for travelers, businessmen, people working away from home and those who are fighting a war. It lets men enter into a contractual agreement with a woman, which would specify the duration of this ‘marriage’. This duration could range from 1 hour to one year or more and it allows men to drop women as per their convenience. This is a Shia way of having sex with women on as and when basis. This system is still used although now there are no long travels like in the primitive times. Under Nikah e Muta, a girl can be married for an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year or more. When the agreement is for one hour, and the man walks out of the room after having sex with her, the ‘marriage’ is automatically dissolved and no sin is written in the log. If anyone has ever wondered why most of the Nawabs in British India converted to Shia sect, this is the main reason.
  2. Nikah e Misyar (Sunni contractual marriage): Nikah e Misyar is the Sunni contractual marriage but it does not require one to mention the duration of the marriage. However, one can ‘think’ a duration and act according to it. Once again there is no liability on the man to provide any shelter or subsistence to the woman during or after the end of this relationship. In a misyar marriage the woman waives some of the rights she would enjoy in a normal marriage. Most misyar brides don’t change their residences but pursue marriage on a visitation basis. In many Arab countries, some marriage officials maintain that seven of 10 marriage contracts they conduct are misyar. In some cases, the officials are asked to recommend prospective misyar partners.  Nikah Misyar allows the man to temporarily marry any girl anywhere, and as many girls as they can afford, without any permanent responsibility.

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