Questions of An American Muslim 1

Sometime ago an American Muslim had sent us a lot of questions most of whom were informative. Therefore we shall mention the fifteen questions and their replies as follows:

Question 1

In the different states of America there are different law and rules in force for marriage and divorce. But their principles are almost same. Because there is no such Islamic religious representative in America who can register the marriage of Muslims. Therefore in such a condition what is the duty of the Muslims there?

Answer: American Muslims men and women can appoint such a person for themselves who can recite the formula of Nikah and if the counsel recites the formula their marriage shall be Islamic. And if such a person is unavailable they can themselves recite the formula of Nikah and if they cannot recite Arabic they can use English language.

It is not necessary according to the Islamic law that the Mahr (dower) has to fixed at the time of marriage. Even if it is not decided at that time the lady can later on demand reasonable Mehr from her husband. On the basis of this it is necessary to pay the Mehr to the wife but if she likes she can forgo a part or whole of it.

Philosophy of Islamic Laws:Ayatullah Naser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatullah Jafar Subhani