Having a Brahmin Perform the Nikah

Question

Mawlawi Ahmad Rida Khan has written that if a Brahmin performs the nikah, it is permissible, since nikah is the name for offer and acceptance (ijab and qabul). Is this correct?

Answer

The person who performs the nikah is not a qadi in the sense of the Shari‘a; therefore it is not necessary that the conditions required of a qadi be found in him. That person merely gives expression to the offer and acceptance. If the spouses themselves make the offer and acceptance before witnesses, the nikah is valid.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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