A marriage contract has essential pillars and conditions that must be met for the contract to be valid. Once these pillars and conditions are fulfilled, the contract is valid in any case.

The contract at the Islamic center is valid if it includes the following:

• Offer and acceptance.
• Two just witnesses (according to the majority of scholars except for the Mālikīs).
• A guardian (according to the majority of scholars except for the Ḥanafīs).

The contract is valid without the presence or permission of a guardian according to the Ḥanafī school, which is the more commonly practiced opinion.

The presence of the officiant, whether the ruler or his representative, is not a pillar of marriage.

Similarly, registration is not a pillar or condition; rather, it serves to document the rights related to marriage.

Therefore, a marriage with its essential pillars is valid religiously (before Allāh) and legally (before people) in Islamic terms. Without registration, it is valid religiously, but a legal claim might not be accepted due to the lack of official registration.

Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr