What constitutes the validity of a marriage contract concerning the required verbal expression (ijab and qabul)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Marriage
Primary text
A marriage contract is concluded if the proposal agent asks the guardian (wali), 'Have I married [her] to you?' and the guardian replies, 'Yes,' and then asks the suitor, 'Have you accepted?' and the suitor replies, 'Yes,' provided two witnesses are present. The basis is that the reply 'Yes' affirms the preceding offer and acceptance, implicitly repeating the substance of the offer ('I have married her to you') and the acceptance ('I accept this marriage'). This is analogous to responding 'Yes' to a statement of debt, which constitutes a valid admission without requiring further explicit formulation.
Supporting text
Al-Shafi'i maintains that the contract is not concluded unless the guardian explicitly states, 'I marry my daughter to you,' and the suitor explicitly states, 'I accept this marriage,' because these two explicit formulations constitute the essential pillars (rukn) of the contract.