Officiating the nikah of a married woman after enquiry is not an offence

Question

A man is the imam of a mosque. Two men came to the imam and said: "Respected Imam, come with us to our place and officiate the nikah of a girl." Upon this the imam enquired whether it was the nikah of a widow or of a virgin girl. They said it was the nikah of a virgin girl, and, swearing an oath, both men said: "Respected Imam, do not worry, this is this girl's first nikah.

Answer

The imam made enquiries and asked several people, and only when he was satisfied did he officiate the nikah; therefore the imam is not guilty. However, that nikah did not become valid, since this girl's nikah had previously been contracted and there has been no divorce from there.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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