Nikah with the Court’s Permission

Question

There were two sisters, and the nikah of both was performed. The elder one was sent off to her husband, but the younger one was not. After five years the younger girl’s husband said: “Send the girl to me,” but the girl’s family refused. After that litigation began. The boy’s side won the case, but even then the girl’s family did not send her. After that the girl’s family performed a second nikah for her and declared: “We have obtained a divorce (talaq) through the government.” Is this nikah valid?

Answer

When the younger sister had become fit to be sent to her husband’s home and her husband was demanding it, sending her off was necessary (lazim). Refusing, obtaining the court’s permission and performing her nikah elsewhere was not right. A great injustice has been done to her husband. This nikah is not a Shar‘i nikah; rather, it is a door to unlawful fornication.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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