Hearing the Woman’s Permission for the Nikah

Question

A certain respected scholar performed the nikah of an adult woman, taking one agent (wakil) and two witnesses. After the nikah one of the two witnesses was asked: “Did you hear the permission from the woman’s mouth at the time of the nikah?” He replied: “I did not hear a single word of permission from the woman’s mouth.” At this a scholar (‘alim) said that this nikah would not be valid in the Shari‘a. At this a married man hurled abuse at that scholar.

Answer

If the offer and acceptance (ijab and qabul) of the nikah took place in the presence of witnesses and the woman did not reject it, then this nikah became valid, even if, when the agent asked, the witnesses did not hear the permission from the woman. They are witnesses of the permission, not witnesses of the offer and acceptance.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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