Is the marriage contract valid if the witnesses are openly unrighteous (*Fasiq*)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Marriage
Primary text
There are two narrations concerning the validity of marriage established by openly unrighteous witnesses. One narration states that the contract is invalid, which is the position of Al-Shafi'i, based on the hadith requiring just witnesses and the principle that marriage cannot be established by their testimony, similar to the testimony of the insane. However, both views agree that absolute, internal righteousness (*'Adalah*) is not required for validity; rather, the contract is established by witnesses whose outward state is concealed (i.e., no apparent unrighteousness is known). If a witness is discovered to have been unrighteous after the contract, the established view is that it does not affect the contract because the condition of outward righteousness was met at the time of contracting.
Supporting text
The second narration holds that the contract is valid, which is the opinion of Abu Hanifa, arguing that testimony is a form of transmission, which is valid from a *Fasiq* like other forms of transmission. A dissenting opinion suggests that if the hidden unrighteousness is revealed later, the marriage becomes invalid because the condition (*'Adalah*) was not truly met. This latter view is rejected because requiring internal knowledge of righteousness would necessitate investigation, making marriage doubtful and thus invalidating it when doubt exists.