Fatwa #1476230 November 2006South Africa
My fiance and I have been waiting for a year and a half to get permission...........
Question
My fiance and I have been waiting for a year and a half to get permission for Nikka from her guardians. Her father is alright with it, her mother is late but her uncles who are financially influencial over the family have been unyielding in their disagreement with us getting married.
Their reason are unclear, they (reason) are not religious though. My fiance and I, cannot wait any longer and have decided to confront them with request to get married immediately, should they refuse to sanction the union we have agreed to proceed and condust it else where with only interested members of the family. They threaten to withdraw all their support and provisions should she proceed against their wishes.
We make dua everyday for their change of heart, after so long we have had to make a decisive move.
I am in agreement with our decision but fear traversing Islamic Laws, can we proceed without their sanction.
Answer
Shariah does not approve of the western concept of fiancé and fiancée. According to Shariah, any contact with a girl before marriage is prohibited. If you identified a girl for marriage and she is prepared to marry you, then your’ll should get married. The blessing of the girls father is sufficient. The girl should request her father to intervene and info rm her uncles about her intention to marry and also get them to agree. That will be in the interest of maintaining the unity in the family. It may not be prudent to side step it especially if they had played an important role in the family and the girl.
And Allah Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai