Chapter: Stipulations in Marriage

Shaykh al-Islām Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

All praise is due to Allah. We seek His help and forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from our evil deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray; and whoever He leads astray, none can guide. We bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, without partner, and we bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bless him and his family and grant him abundant peace.

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Invalid stipulations in marriage are numerous, as in “shighār (exchange marriage),” “tahlīl marriage,” and “temporary marriage.” Other examples include marrying a woman on condition that she receive no dower, or that her dower consist of something unlawful, and similar invalid stipulations. Scholars hold several views concerning these.

“The first” is that the marriage is invalid. Then, is it valid to give effect to the invalid stipulation thereafter? This is disputed.

This is one of the two views within the schools of Mālik and Ahmad. It was the view preferred by a number of leading scholars among Ahmad’s followers, such as Abū Bakr al-Khallāl and Abū Bakr ‘Abd al-‘Azīz.