We have been informed that one of our brothers who has devoted considerable attention to the noble hadith—may Allah reward them—stated that the hadith, “There is no marriage except with a guardian and two upright witnesses” (1), is authentically traced back to the Prophet. He then cited weak evidences, none of which strengthens the others. According to the principles of hadith scholars, if the evidences are only mildly weak, they may strengthen one another, in which case the hadith would be sound due to corroborating evidence. However, some chains contain narrators who have been abandoned, or the like; such reports cannot be used as supporting evidence.

We have pointed this out so that we may know that, no matter how much knowledge a person attains, he is not infallible in every matter. He is only a human being: he errs, is correct, and forgets. No one is infallible except one whom Allah has protected.

Thus, after considering this matter, it becomes clear to us that formal witnessing is not a condition, though it should be done and is particularly emphasized—especially in lands such as ours, where they rule that witnessing is a condition. If a dispute arises in this matter and is brought before the courts, they will rule the marriage invalid. This would cause us problems. Therefore, one should exercise caution in every matter relating to marriage, particularly when doing so accords with the rulings of the authorities in one’s country.

There are four possible cases:

The first is that there are witnesses and public announcement. There is no doubt about the validity of this, and no one says that it is invalid.

The second is that there are witnesses but no public announcement. Its validity is open to question, because it conflicts with the command: “Publicize the marriage.”