Text Box: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Friday Sermon HAZRAT KHALIFATULLAH AL-MASSIH AL-MA’UD Munir Ahmad Azim 01 October 2010 (22 Shawwal 1431 Hijri) (Summary of Friday Sermon) After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Khalifatullah read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said: A man married a woman against her will but had the consent of the parents of the latter; he spent a large dowry on her. Nevertheless, she fled. Must she return back the husband’s money? What becomes then of this marriage? It is illegal to marry a woman against her will, by forcing her into it or going ahead with it without her consent. Indeed, Islam granted the woman the right to choose her husband, at least to consent to it for it is she who will become his companion and his half in their life together. Then how can we then impose a man whom she refuses? According to a Hadith, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The woman who has been once married has more right on herself than her legal representative (Wali). And the virgin girl has to agree to her marriage; she can express agreement with her silence.” In another Hadith, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “The virgin girl may not be married until she gives her consent.” The question came: “O Messenger of God, how do we know she consents?” He said: “When she remains silent.” A third Hadith says: “If she remains silent, it means she agrees. And if she refuses, she should not be forced (into marriage).” It is also reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) annulled the marriage contract of a woman helper (Ansariyya) by the name of Al-Khansa Bint Khidham because her father had married her against her will. Her hand in marriage had actually been requested by two men, the first being the noble companion Abu Lubabah Ibn Al-Mundhir and the second being a man of her clan. The woman preferred Abu Lubabah, while her father wanted her to marry the second one, and without her consent married her off to the man of their tribe. Al-Khansa then went to Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) and complained to him in these words: “O Messenger of God, my father has gone beyond his limits with me and married me regardless of my refusal.” Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Her marriage is void. Marry who you want!” According to another version, Al-Khansa said: “My father got married me to his nephew, despite my refusal.” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “You can now endorse (accept) what your father has done.” She replied: “But I do not like what my father has done.” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Go, her marriage is invalid. Marry who you want.” She continued to say: “I now accept what my father has done. Nevertheless, I wanted people to know that it does not belong to the parents to force their daughters to marry anyone.” According to Abbas Ibn Abd ‘Allah (May Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) annulled the marriage of a virgin and that of a woman who was once married before, after their father had married them against their will. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) then decided that their marriage was void. We deduce from all this that the marriage mentioned in the original question is invalid and that the dowry should be returned back to the husband. Another question: “Is the engagement ring permissible in Islam? The engagement ring or wedding ring has its history dating thousands of years back. Some people say that the Pharaohs were the first to have invented it even before the Greeks had had a clue about it. Others say it is due to an old custom still observed today. This custom was to bind the husband and wife together with chains and raise the bridegroom on a horse, pulling his wife behind him to their house; this may represent the distance between two houses. Later, people prefer to wear a ring rather than being bound by chains. Wearing an engagement ring in the left hand is an old custom of the Greeks who believed that the circulation of blood to the aorta was through this area. It later emerged that the British also enjoyed wearing engagement rings. In fact, they considered that this custom was purely Christian. Some Muslims have adopted the idea of wearing an engagement ring for no apparent reason and some of them believe that removing it is bad luck. This has no basis in Islam. Wearing an engagement ring is not considered unlawful in an Islamic perspective, since no text is for it or against it. Moreover, it is not considered to be a form of imitation of the disbelievers. We know that such imitation is prohibited particularly when it involves an act that violates the teachings of Islam. If the ring is steel, there is nothing wrong for a man or a woman to wear it, but if the ring is gold, only women can wear it but not men. (Tirmidhi) Tirmidhi relates in a chain of authentic narration that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The wearing of gold is forbidden for Muslim men but it is permitted for women.” According to a Hadith narrated by Muslim, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade men to wear gold rings. It is also reported that when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man wearing a gold ring, he immediately removed it from his hand and threw it and then said: “Would one of you like to carry ember in his hand…” May Allah help us to understand the true teachings of Islam and put it into practice. Insha-Allah.