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Bigamy In Non-Muslim Society
I am living in a Non-Muslim majority country where bigamy is illegal. I am married here and my marriage is registered under the country’s law. At the time of marriage registration, I had arranged nikah with same lady which was privately arranged and it is undocumented as the country doesn’t have any such system which supports registration of nikah. Now I am getting married to another woman who is from Pakistan and in order to bring her abroad to live with me, i have to register my marriage here which is legally impossible as long as I am in a marriage contract with my current wife. My current wife and to be wife both are well aware and are agreeable to this marriage. What should i do in this situation?
Is it fine if my current wife and I file divorce / desolation of current marriage under this country’s law without intention of divorcing as per sharia so I can make room for another wife? Would this act cause divorce as per sharia? -
9 Replies
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Bigamy In Non-Muslim Society
updated 11 months, 2 weeks ago
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9
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The land of the land should not interfere with the religious laws of personal nature. However, in your situation, this is a matter of compulsion, where Shariah gives room for a workable solution.
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The law* of the land….
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For comments of Ghamidi Sahab, please refer to the video below from 1:08:20 to 1:09:18
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Please also refer to the video below from 22:58 to 27:04
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I believe my question differs slightly from what was asked to Ghamidi Sahib and his response in the provided videos. Let me elaborate further. The law of this country does not recognize Nikah as a legal contract; otherwise, just Nikah would have been sufficient at the time of my first marriage. My question is about the legal position according to Sharia of obtaining a divorce decree from this country, given its legal setup. Would it be considered a valid divorce according to Sharia? Keep in mind that this country’s marriage contract is not recognized as a legal marriage contract (Nikah) according to Sharia.
Secondly, this country’s law has no objections if I engage in unlimited extramarital affairs while having a wife. So, wouldn’t it show respect for the country’s law if, in the eyes of this law, I have one wife and another woman without a marriage contract (as per the country’s law) but have a Nikah with her, as per our choice, to abide by Sharia and make this relationship Halal for us?
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None of the countries that I am aware of recognize mere Nikah done privately or even publicly. Such countries, even including Pakistan, have some legal formalities that are required to be fulfilled for validation/registration of that Nikah. And it is our responsibility as a Muslim to abide by all those terms as well. Unless you mean something else by the statement “The law of this country does not recognize Nikah as a legal contract“, this argument is not valid. In such scenarios, both the requirements should be fulfilled by a Muslim, that of an Islamic Nikah and that of a country where one is residing related to marriage registration.
Faking a divorce not only undermines the institution of marriage at your end by showing a live-in relationship publicly, but it is essentially a deception which is against Islamic principles, both the fake divorce and live-in relationship. The videos of Ghamidi Sahab in my opinion principally apply to your situation as well.
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It’s not about faking a divorce. It means it would be a divorce according to the definition of divorce under the country’s law. However, it is not necessarily a divorce as per the definition of divorce under Sharia. Similarly, the definition of a marriage contract according to a country’s law is different from the definition of a marriage contract (Nikah) as per Sharia. For instance, just having a marriage under a country’s law doesn’t make us husband and wife in the eyes of Sharia, and we have to take another step of having a Nikah to make it Sharia-approved. Then, how does a divorce decree by a country’s law cause a divorce without fulfilling the Sharia requirements of divorce? This is basically my initial question.
Just to add an example, there are many people living in remote areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan where their marriages are not registered, and I personally know people with no legal documents like a Nikah-nama. Is their marriage not legal according to Sharia? Yes, they have failed to comply with the country’s law by not documenting it, but they haven’t done anything against Sharia.
Lastly, it’s neither deception nor a live-in relationship because it is/will be publicly celebrated, especially within the Muslim community here, and generally even outside the Muslim community. The only difference is that the law doesn’t consider it a marriage, despite people knowing it is a marriage as per Sharia. Since the law doesn’t consider it a marriage, it is also not considered a violation of the monogamous marriage law.
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how does a divorce decree by a country’s law cause a divorce without fulfilling the Sharia requirements of divorce?:
Officiating a divorce legally but not meaning it in reality and practicing bigamy despite law of the land prohibiting it is deceiving the law of the country where one is residing which one was bound to follow in letter and spirit.
people living in remote areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan where their marriages are not registered, and I personally know people with no legal documents like a Nikah-nama. Is their marriage not legal according to Sharia?:
Exceptions/exemptions are not used to jutify overriding of the prevalent law in the country. The state of Pakistan is aware of such tribal issues and is trying to bring them in the complete social and legal framework of the country. If they intentionally ignored legal procedure despite being aware of it and despite having an opportunity to do so, then their intentional negligence will be subject to accountabiity. If the matter comes to the court, then courts, after considering all the circumstances of the case, have an authority to either declare their Nikkahs null and void or they may ratify their Nikkah subject to some procedural conditions and may fine them too.
The issue here is not whether such Nikkah is sharia compliant or such divorce is just a legal formality but not sharia based, the issue here is that such tactics tantamount to deceiving the state where one is residing which is a separate issue and a very serious one which should be even a bigger concern.
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Officiating a divorce legally but not meaning it in reality and practicing bigamy despite law of the land prohibiting it is deceiving the law of the country where one is residing which one was bound to follow in letter and spirit.
It becomes a matter of bigamy in the eyes of the law only when it meets the established criteria for a valid marriage or divorce as outlined by the country’s legal framework, encompassing all the specified prerequisites for marriage and divorce under this jurisdiction.
Exceptions/exemptions are not used to jutify overriding of the prevalent law in the country. The state of Pakistan is aware of such tribal issues and is trying to bring them in the complete social and legal framework of the country. If they intentionally ignored legal procedure despite being aware of it and despite having an opportunity to do so, then their intentional negligence will be subject to accountabiity. If the matter comes to the court, then courts, after considering all the circumstances of the case, have an authority to either declare their Nikkahs null and void or they may ratify their Nikkah subject to some procedural conditions and may fine them too.
Again, this example is not being used as an excuse to justify anything but rather to question whether merely not being registered with state nullifies a Sharia-aligned Nikkah where all requirements of Nikkah are fulfilled, including the presence of witnesses.
The issue here is not whether such Nikkah is sharia compliant or such divorce is just a legal formality but not sharia based, the issue here is that such tactics tantamount to deceiving the state where one is residing which is a separate issue and a very serious one which should be even a bigger concern.
My query, it seems, diverges from the interpretation presented in your response. How does it constitute deception towards the state, particularly when there’s no explicit legal provision prohibiting a sharia-aligned Nikkah or divorce?
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