Nikah

views updated

NIKAH

Literally the act of sexual intercourse, nikah is the term by which marriage is referred to in the Qur˒an. Islamic law defines nikah as a civil contract whose main function is to render sexual relations between a man and woman licit. Any sexual relations outside the nikah contract constitute the crime of zina (illicit sexual relations) and are subject to punishment. In practice, nikah is enacted in a ceremony intertwined with religious symbolism and rituals such as the recitation of al-Fatiha, the first verse of the Qur˒an, usually performed by religious functionaries, although Islamic law does not positively prescribe any service.

See alsoMarriage.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bousquet, Georges Henry. "La Conception du Nikah selon les Docteurs de la Loi Muslamane." Revue Algèrienne. (1948): 63–74.

El Alami, Dawoud. Marriage Contract in Islamic Law. London: Graham & Trotman, 1992.

Maghniyyah, Muhammad Jawad. Marriage According to FiveSchools of Islamic Law. Tehran: Department of Transliteration and Publication, Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, 1997.

Ziba Mir-Hosseini