• Marriage of Muslim girl with Hindu boy

Hello,

I am a Muslim girl who wants to marry a Hindu boy. Our families are aware of our decision and are willing to go ahead with this marriage, though somewhat reluctantly. My parents have made it absolutely clear that they will not have us married without a Nikah, and the boy's side has agreed to having a customary Muslim wedding with a Nikah. But on one condition....

The boy's side wants to have a court marriage done in addition to Nikah, under the Special Marriage Act, so that their son retains his identity as a Hindu. They are insistent on having our marriage solemnized in the court first before we have our traditional Muslim wedding and reception. But my family is somehow not agreeing to this condition, because in their view the court marriage (Special Marriage Act) is contradictory to the essence of a Nikah (for which a conversion would obviously be needed) and therefore, not acceptable.

Could someone please advise what are the implications of doing a court marriage followed by a Nikah, and of doing a Nikah followed by a court marriage? In both the cases, which marriage will be considered legally legitimate and what effect will it have on our marriage certificate that we will obtain?

Thank you
Asked 8 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Muslim

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7 Answers

1) marriage under special marriage act is advisable when both girl and boy want to retain their faith

2)it is not necessary for your boy friend to change his religion to marry you

3) you will get certificate of your marriage under SMA

4) subsequent nikaah wil not affect validity of marriage under SMA

5) in case marriage dues not work out divorce would be under provisions of SMA

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94714 Answers
7530 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. No nikah is possible unless both the spouses profess Muslim religion. So the boy will have top convert to perform nikah.

2. Registration of marriage under Special Marriage Act can be done before Nikah only. After nilkah only Nikahnama will be granted not marriage registration under Special Marriage Act which is done between two Hindus or one Hindu and another Muslim/chirstian but not between two Muslims.

3. Certificate is immediately granted after registration.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22821 Answers
488 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Under the given circumstances, please be aware that anyone of the marriage only be valid under law.

For solemnising the marriage under Muslim Law, the boy has to convert himself to Muslim and after that only he will be eligible for getting his marriage solemnised as Muslim law and religious rites.

Suppose he is not willing to convert himself to Muslim but still insists to marry then he can marry her under Special Marriages Act. For a marriage under this neither of the party to marriage need to convert themselves to either' s religion, they can remain in their respective religion itself. But subsequently a Nikah cannot be solemnised as per Muslim law because as per Muslim law, a married Muslim woman cannot marry again without dissolving her existing marriage or during the life time of her husband while the marriage with him still subsists. In this case, though she will marrying again the same person, but it can be considered as that she is already married woman and no second marriage for Muslim woman can be permitted during the subsistence of her earlier marriage. Further the boy has to get converted to Muslim in order to perform Nikah.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84915 Answers
2195 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You can have a nikah but it will have no validity unless both of you are Muslims. For a marriage under Special Marriage Act (which in common parlance is called court marriage) no conversion is required. This law has been enacted to facilitate inter religious marriages by enabling the spouses to retain their respective religions. In short, neither you nor your man would have to convert. The date of your marriage would be the date on which you marry under SMA and not nikah.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

) If after solemnizing the marriage under Special Marriage Act, the boy decides to convert to Islam, will the court marriage still be considered valid? And if after conversion, a Muslim Marriage Certificate is also signed in court, which certificate (SMA or Muslim Marriage Act) will be valid?

There is nothing wrong in the boy converting himself to Muslim after SMA but there wont be a need to remarry her under Muslim law once again because the same s not valid. Especially a married Muslim woman cannot remarry the same person of any other person during the subsistence of her previous marriage.

2) What procedures does conversion to Islam involve legally? Is any legal paperwork required for conversion to happen?

There is no legal or paper work for this. Simply convert in front of a kazi in a mosque expressing desire and willingness to embrace Islam.

3) If Nikah is done first and a Nikahnama is obtained for the same, will a subsequent marriage under SMA be allowed legally?

No, the subsequent SMA is not permitted and legally valid even if it is registered by suppressing the Nikah

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84915 Answers
2195 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) marriage under SMA would be considered valid even if boy subsequently converts to islam

2)conversion to Islam is done by taking Shahadah oaths before Nikaah, adopt a Muslim name,. local imam would issue certificate of conversion in this regard

3) According to Mulla's Principle of Mohammedan Law any person who

professes Mohammedan religion that is, he acknowledges that there is but

one God and that Mohammad is his prophet is a Mohammedan. Such a

person may be a Mohammedan by birth or he may be a Mohammedan by

conversion. It is not necessary that he should observe any particular rites or

ceremony to be an orthodox believer in the religion, no Court can test or

gauge sincerity of religious belief. It is sufficient if he professes

Mohammedan religion in the sense that he accepts prophetic grant of

Mohammedan (section 19, Chapter 2, page 19 of Mulla's Principles of

Mohammedan Law). Thus the r

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94714 Answers
7530 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. The subsequent conversion to Islam will not affect the validity of marriage done under SMA. No Muslim marriage certificate will be issued to them merely on account of conversion. The certificate under SMA alone will be the certificate of marriage for all legal and practical reasons.

2. Doing nikah without conversion, which has no validity in the eyes of law, does not bar the marriage under SMA.

3. To become a Muslim the person has to say the testimony of Faith (Shahada) before a moulvi. After the conversion he can make a declaration in the gazette and also publish the same in 2 newspapers for a general notice.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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