Today our topic of discussion is Muslim Marriage .
Muslim Marriage
In Islam marriage is a contract between two consenting parties. It is pres- cribed by God for all Muslim adults capable of normal functioning. Though the vows are sacred and to be cherished, they are part of a larger net- work of terms duties and obligations, bound together by love.
The vows are not ’till death do the partners part’, nor do they extend beyond death. Theoretically, a marriage may be terminated if any partner fails in his or her duties and desires to end the relationship. The ceremony itself is simple.
It requires the consent of the couple to be married in the presence of two witnesses and a representative (called wakil) appointed by the girl. The terms specify the couples’ identity and the amount of mohr (dower- money) to be given by the groom to the bride as security. All these and other vital stipulations in keeping with the shariat may be put down on a paper called the kabin-nama.
The groom or bride has the right to withhold consent without which, in theory, the marriage cannot take place. Hunter referred to the kabin-nama in his Statistical Account of 1876: It is also customary to register a certain document, by which a dower of about Rs. 100 is settled upon the bride, and among the more respectable classes such a paper carries with it certain legal rights, duly set down in the Muhammadan law books.
Mohr or dower-money was a widely discussed issue in the early part of this century. Moniruzzaman Islamabadi pointed to excessive dower as a social evil which spelt the ruin of many illustrious families.
Among middle class families it was customary to fix upon four to five hundred rupees while the rich often raised it to a lac (one hundred thousand). Although dower became a mark of social status, it was originally designed to provide security to the wife. The mohr was an important obligation for the husband but he could be released from it if the wife so desired and an ideal wife was supposed to do so.
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