While Compulsory Registration of all marriages under personal laws is still to be implemented in India, few personal laws facilitate this registration of Marriages. One of such personal laws is the Muslim laws, which portrays marriages as a contract between the bride and groom. Unlike other personal laws, Muslim laws are considered to be uncodified civil laws. Muslim laws, relating to marriages, inheritance etc, derives from various uncodified sources such as Quran, Sunnat, Qiyas and codified sources like Legislations, precedents and equity principles. This article will look specifically into the registration and procedure of marriages under Muslim law.

Marriages under Muslim Law:

Muslim law considers marriage as a civil contract and does not require prescribed mandatory religious ceremonies as part of it. More specifically, the Quran mentions marriage as a strong agreement, i.e. mithaqun ghalithum. It is also noted that the meaning of ‘nikah’ is basically to have physical relation between the man and woman for the procreation of the child and the honour of Mahr to the women.

As per Justice Mahmood, marriage among the Mohammedans is not a sacrament but purely a civil contract. Ashabah says that marriage is a contract that is a permanent relationship based on Mutual consent between men and women. In India, Muslim marriages are regulated through the Muslim Marriages act, 1954. The legislation applies Solemnization of Muslim marriage among the community of Muslim takes place under this act and the act also requires the consent of both the bride and groom.

Before looking into the registration of marriages under Muslim laws, it is important to look into the objectives of marriage under Muslim law. As per Tarmizi, which was considered as an authoritative element, or source under the personal law, gives five main objectives. They are,

• Restraint of sexual passion,
• Ordering of domestic life,
• Increase of family
• Discipline to take care and responsibility for the children and wife, and
• The upbringing of virtuous children

On the other hand, Hedaya gives another set of three objectives. They include,

• co-habitation,
• society,
• equal friendship

Essentials of Muslim marriages:

• Proposal and acceptance:

The proposal can either be in a written form or oral way. It has to be done in one meeting or at the same time.

• Competent parties:

Under Muslim law, puberty has been seen as a competency for marriages.

• No legal disability:

Three main disabilities are absolute disability, relative incapacity and Prohibitory

Registration of Marriages:

In India, apart from the legislation enacted by each of the states, there is certain Central legislation that contains provisions relating to the registration of marriages. As per the writings of Mulla on Principles of Muhammadan law, Muslim law does not actually require the registration of marriage as a mandatory requirement of a valid marriage. In the same manner, Muslim law does not expressly prohibit the registration of marriage. Since it does not express the registration, if not registered, the Muslim marriages can be proved through direct evidence or in case of lack of direct evidence the marriage can be proved through an acknowledgement by the man of paternity of the child born or through an acknowledgement that a particular woman as his wife.

It is also noted that in order to declare the proof, Muslims may device a process namely the registration by Jamath, through which the proof may be shown easier. And this, as per Mulla, would evolve a course of time to become a valid custom and certainly not in violation of the personal laws. It is important to note that this way of custom or registration by Jamath will only be made invalid when the same is made mandatory as this would also violate the Muslim personal law.

Also, Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 expressly abrogates the customs or the usage of any practice if it has a character that is contrary to the existing personal law. These customs will be practised until the same has become the custom to have the marriage of willing persons to be registered, then it becomes the customary right and not merely a contractual right. Solemnization of Muslim Marriages was done through Kazi Act, 1880. The act enabled the government of a particular state to appoint a person to solemnize. Once the marriages/‘nikah’ are solemnized by the Kazi, the married couple will agree, in other words – Nikahnama, through their signatures. This agreement had been used as a valid document while registering the marriages.

Apart from the Muslim personal law, the Special marriages act, 1954 also deals with the registration of Muslim marriages as well. The main aim of the act is to facilitate marriages irrespective of their religion, caste, etc. This applies to all Indians. Section 15 of the act deals with the registration of Marriages Even though all the above legislation enables the married couple to get registered under the act; the same does not make it mandatory for them. Problems arise from here, which is in case of failure.

Importance of Registration of Marriages:

One such significant pronouncement came in the case of Seema v. Ashwani (2006). It was in this case, the court observed that ‘marriages of Indians should be registered compulsorily irrespective of their religion or caste, in their respective states. It ordered the state and central government to effectuate the procedure for registration of marriages through a statute to serve the purpose. In another significant case of Kanagavalli v. Saroja (2001), Madras High Court noted and observed that registration of marriages serves as a security to women. It further stated that the registration easily ensures the prosecution for the offence of Bigamy. These cases, like in Muslim personal laws, try to portray the importance of registration of marriages under each personal law.