5-Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle - Hakikat Kitabevi

Madhhab to have two Muslim witnesses [even if they are known
to be sinners] while making an offer and acceptance. Two
Muslim men or one Muslim man and two Muslim women who
have already reached the age of puberty should be ready at
that moment and they should hear the offer and the
acceptance. In Shâfi’î and Hanbalî Madhhabs witnesses must
be males and they should not have publicly known sins. In
Hanafî Madhhab beside the wakîl or the walî one man and two
women can also be witnesses. In Maliki Madhhab a witness is
not necessary but the walî must be present at the nikâh and the
nikâh must be announced, and acquaintainces must be
informed about the nikâh.
The third condition of nikâh: This condition covers the offer
and its acceptance. In other words, a contract of marriage
should be made. In Shâfi’î and Hanbalî Madhhabs the marriage
contract is agreed upon between two men. One of the two men
is the groom or his wakîl, and the other one is the bride’s walî or
wakîl. They make a marriage contract by saying such words as
nikâh, husband, or wife, or by saying similar words that are
used for this purpose. In these two Madhhabs if the bride is not
a virgin, then her permission also is needed.
It is written in the book Ni’mat-i islâm: “In Hanafî Madhhab
a woman and a man who are free and beyond the age of
puberty can get married by themselves in the presence of two
witnesses. Their nikâh can also be performed in the presence of
one of them and by the wakîl of the other party, or by the wakîls
of both parties. The wakîl has to be a wise Muslim with an
ability to distinguish right from wrong but need not to be a male
or be at the age of puberty. When one appoints someone as
one’s wakîl, one does not need any witnesses. For this, first the
wife gives her proxy (wakâlat) for renewing the nikâh on her
behalf to her husband by saying, “Whenever you divorce me, I
have authorized you as my wakîl to marry me to yourself,” and
then if the husband accepts her proxy; when he divorces her
with one bâin talâq [1] he says “I have married so and so, (saying
the name of his wife), to myself, whom I divorced earlier,” in the
presence of two witnesses, his nikâh becomes sahîh again.
[The famous renewal of the imân and nikâh of the whole jamâ’at
by the recitation of a duâ (prayer) by the individuals who make
[1] Talâq (divorce) is explained in the Turkish original, Se’âdet-i Ebediyye.
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