Civil Marriage

Question

In Africa there is an island called “Bourbon”, subject to the French government. There the marriage contract (‘aqd) has to be concluded according to the law of the French government; this is called a “civil marriage”. The government there does not recognise a marriage contract concluded according to the Islamic Shari‘a, that is, the woman is treated as unmarried, the children face difficulty in the division of inheritance, and moreover the children’s rights of birth there are harmed.

Answer

If the nikah itself took place in a permissible and lawful manner, and nothing contrary to the Shari‘a has to be done in it in belief, action or word — for example, the nikah is contracted with a woman who is lawful for him according to the Shari‘a, not one with whom nikah is forbidden by the Shari‘a: for example, she is not his mahram, not another man’s wife nor in ‘idda from…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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