say, “I marry you,” or, “I give you in marriage,” even though he is not an Arab and does not know the meaning of “I marry you” or “I give you in marriage,” then he may say it in his own language, because the precise wording is not itself an act of worship. This differs from the Noble Quran. If someone wished to recite the Noble Quran in his own language, even with an exactly corresponding meaning, we would say to him: No; for the Quran is the speech of Allah and cannot be altered, and because its recitation is itself an act of worship.
His statement, “for one who knows Arabic, unless the words ‘I marry you’ or ‘I give you in marriage’ are used”: thus, he might say, for example, “I marry you to my daughter,” or, “I give you my daughter in marriage.” If he says, “I join you to my daughter in marriage,” it is not valid according to the legal school, because he knows Arabic; he must say, “I marry you,” using the word beginning with the letter zāy.
If he says, “I make you the owner of my daughter,” it is not valid, because the wording must be “I marry you” or “I give you in marriage.”
What is the proof that it is valid only with these two expressions? There is no proof—neither in the Quran nor in the sunnah—that a marriage is valid only with this wording. Yet they say: because these are the two expressions used in the Quran. In the Noble Quran, Allah says:
“Marry those women who are lawful for you.” [al-Nisāʾ 4:3]
“Then, when Zayd had no further need of her, We gave her to you in marriage.” [al-Aḥzāb 33:37]
Thus, the two terms used in the Quran are marriage and giving in marriage, so we should not go beyond them, but confine ourselves to the expressions that have been transmitted. This is due to the gravity of marriage: it is the gravest and most demanding of contracts. There is no doubt, however, that this reasoning is infirm—indeed, dead.
The second view is that a contract may be concluded with any wording that is customarily understood to indicate it. The evidence for this is found in the Quran and the sunnah.
As for the Quran, Allah says:
“Marry those women who are lawful for you.” [al-Nisāʾ 4:3]