An Acknowledgement of Nikah Is Not Sufficient

Question

For three or four years there was a love correspondence between Hinda and Zayd. In some letters Hinda wrote: “I will make only you my husband,” and in some: “I want to make you my husband”; in most letters she referred to Zayd as her husband, and along with this she also expressed that the nikah between you and me has already been concluded — because she knew that Zayd had read the letters she sent him before two or three adult, sane people and had accepted it three times before people, saying: “I accept her into…

Answer

In the above words — “I will make only you my husband,” “I want to make you my husband,” “The nikah between you and me has already been concluded” — there is no offer (ijab) for nikah: with the first and second words a wish has been expressed, and with the third words an acknowledgement (iqrar) has been made, which is a falsehood.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.