Chapter
Marriage has conditions. One of them is that the two spouses be specified …
His statement, “Marriage has conditions,” means that the marriage contract has conditions.
Know that one aspect of the wisdom of the Sacred Law is that every act of worship and transaction must have conditions, so that matters may be unified, regulated, and made clear. Were it not for these conditions, such matters would be chaotic: everyone would marry whomever he wished, sell whatever he wished, and pray however he wished. But these conditions which Allah, Most High, has established for acts of worship and transactions are part of His profound and far-reaching wisdom, by which the Sacred Law and contracts are regulated. Likewise, impediments must be absent. Hence, one of the well-known legal maxims is: A matter is not complete unless its conditions are present and its impediments absent.
There is a difference between the conditions of marriage and stipulations made within a marriage contract:
First: the conditions of marriage are restrictions laid down by the Sacred Law and cannot be waived, whereas stipulations within a marriage contract are conditions set by the contracting parties and may be waived.
Second: the validity of marriage depends upon its conditions, whereas the binding nature of the marriage contract depends upon its stipulations.
His statement, “One of them is that the two spouses be specified”: this is because the marriage contract concerns the particular individuals—the husband and wife. It is a matter of great consequence, involving lineage, inheritance, and rights. Therefore, the two spouses must be specified. It is not valid for him to say, “I marry you to one of your sons,” or, “I marry you to one of these two men,” or, “I marry you to a student at the college.” Rather, he must identify the person. The same applies to the wife: she must be specified, such as when he says, “I marry you to my daughter.”
The evidences found in the Quran and the sunnah indicate that they must be specified. Allah says