To sum up, the basic principle with regard to marriage conditions is that they are permissible and valid, whether they are to do with marriage, buying and selling, renting, pledges or mortgages, children or jobs.
The ruling on the conditions that are stipulated in contracts, if they are valid, is that they must be fulfilled, because of the general meaning of the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Fulfil (your) obligations” [al-Maidah 5:1].”
The Right to Annul the Marriage
It should be noted that if the husband breaks this condition, his wife does not become divorced as a result of that, rather she has the right to annul the marriage , and she may either annul it or give up the condition and accept what her husband has done, and remain as his wife.
Examples of Marriage conditions
- both husband and wife agree to discuss all issues that arise in their marriage and arrive at mutually agreeable conclusions. Differences of opinion concerning a point of Islamic practice will be referred to the Quran and Hadith. Both will admit if they are simply expressing personal opinions, which will not be binding.
- none of them will have a right to physically hurt each other.
- the husband must learn to speak and read Arabic fluently.
- that the husband will not require the wife to move out of her home town.
- the wife will bring all twenty of her cats to live in her husband’s house.
- husband and wife both will share responsibilities of cooking, cleaning and other homemaking tasks.
- income of husband and wife both will be pooled together in one account operable by each one individually with mutual consent.
- husband will not exercise his option of another wife
- husband is the leader of the family who will run the family in consultation with the wife.
- wife will not be required to work outside the home. If she chooses to work, she will be not be stopped from it and she will not be required to share that income for the family needs.
- wife will not work to earn money without the consent of husband.
- wife will be solely responsible for homemaking.
- children will be raised as Muslims in home and through Islamic education.
- home will be run Islamically as described in the Quran and Hadith
- Children will not be taken to church.
- A court granted divorce will be considered, Islamically, a first level of Talaq (divorce), which has a room for remarrying the same person without any condition.
- husband or wife will facilitate each other’s Islamic work and will not stop each other from it.
- in case of a dispute, husband and wife will appoint one person each to arbitrate between them
- if either husband or a wife suggests marriage counseling, the other party must agree to it.
- husband will not ask wife to stop her Islamic practices like Hijab
- if anyone indulges in Haram (what is forbidden), it will be an acceptable ground for divorce.
- in case of divorce, children will be with Muslim spouse and will be raised Muslims.
- in case of any spouse’s death, the surviving spouse will be responsible for the distribution of inheritance according to the Islamic law.
- family will not move out to another country without mutual agreement.
Other Examples of Conditions to include in Marriage Contracts
Some of the points which are usually included nowadays are:
- Whether the husband and the wife will work after marriage
- family planning
- Whether the wife will be a shareholder in all of the husbands possessions
- Continuation of study by any of the spouse
- Relocation
- Separate businesses
- Retirement benefits
- Income, deductions, and claims for filing your tax returns
- Arrangement regarding investing in certain purchases or projects, such as a house or business
- Management of credit card spending and payments
- Saving contributions
- Arranging putting one or the other through school
- Settlement of potential disagreements, such as using mediation or arbitration
- Management of household bills and expenses
- Management of joint bank accounts, if any
- Property distribution to the survivor, including life insurance, in the event of death
What Happens if a Condition is Broken ?
If the husband breaks this condition, his wife does not become divorced as a result of that, rather she has the right to annul the marriage , and she may either annul it or give up the condition and accept what her husband has done, and remain as his wife.
If the wife breaks any of the conditions, he has the right to annul the marriage.
