Nikah Urfi Totally Explained

Everything about Nikah Urfi totally explained

Nikah urfi is a kind of marriage.

Etymology

'Urfi (Arabic: عرفي) comes from the Arabic word 'Urf, which means custom, convention, or a customary act.
In its modern context, 'Urfi is used to connote something which is in difference to official state ceremony or procedure. Thus a Nikah 'urfi in one Islamic land may denote it to be something synonymous to a common-law marriage in the west, while in some nations like Egypt, a Nikah 'Urfi is a marriage that takes place without the public approval of the bride's guardians, even though the contract is officiated by a religious cleric and sometimes by a state representative.

What is it?

It is similar to the Nikah ceremony. An urfi marriage is a marriage without an official contract. Couples repeat the words, "We got married" and pledge commitment before God. Usually a paper, stating that the two are married, is written and two witnesses sign it. Most of the Islamic countries don't recognize 'Urfi marriages. A woman couldn't get a 'legal' divorce since the government didn't recognize the legality of the marriage in the first place.

Legal Issues

There are three criteria of defining legal issues in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh):

Shari : something that's clearly defined in the shariah.
'Urfi : conventional or common tradition. An 'Urfi definition is acceptable to the common people without any scientific or shari precision.
Ilmi : a definition presented by science.

If the shariah defines something, all Muslims must follow that definition. If the shariah is silent on an issue, Muslims should follow the 'Urfi definition.
   The 'Urfi marriage has always existed, but for different reasons.
   In the past, it was common among the widows of soldiers who had huge pensions and they didn't want to lose it by officially re-marrying. Now, however, it's mostly among university students and young couples who can't afford the high cost of marriage.
   Undocumented 'Urfi marriages are increasingly popular among Egyptian youth. The high cost of marriage forces many young couples to wait several years before they marry. Conservative Egyptian society forbids sex before marriage, so many young people consider the 'Urfi marriage a solution. 'Urfi marriages are conducted by a Muslim cleric in the presence of two witnesses. However, they're not officially registered and are not legally financially binding on the man. Couples married in this way often meet in secret and avoid the expense of renting an apartment. The 'Urfi marriage can be disastrous for the wife in legal terms. If the husband leaves her without granting her a divorce, she'd no legal right to seek a divorce since 'Urfi marriage is considered illegal. Her husband could remarry. The wife is in a more difficult position. If the wife remarries, she can be accused of polyandry, which is punishable by seven years in prison in Egypt, or she could remain single for the rest of her life.
   The new Egyptian law (passed in 2000) recognizes the woman's right to seek divorce from an 'Urfi marriage. However, the law denies her alimony and child support.
   There are also controversial, unofficial "'Urfi" marriages, where a couple signs documents declaring themselves married. The couple doesn't inform their families of the marriage. Many Egyptian clerics are against this type of 'Urfi marriage calling it a cover for pre-marital sex.
   An extreme form of 'Urfi marriage is known as zawag al-'urfi: to give prostitution an Islamic cover, some women enter into secret marriage contracts with their summer visitors. Known in Egypt as zawag al-'urfi, this contract is made without witnesses and typically ends in divorce by summer's end. Most of Egypt's Islamic scholars condemn this use of zawag al-'urfi.

Sunni view

See Nikah Misyar

Shi'a view

Only Shi'a follow Nikah Mut'ah, in which the couple contract a marriage for a set time, which can be as short as a couple of days. There are no financial or social obligations besides those set out in the original contract. There is no divorce in Nikah Mut'ah since the marriages is automatically void when the contract expires.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Nikah Urfi'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://nikah_urfi.totallyexplained.com">Nikah Urfi Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.