Q&A: Female Qazi for Nikkah

Question

“I want to know, is it allowed in Islam for a woman to become Qazi and conduct/solemnize Nikah? I came across in a video and article (see below) and I was really shocked that is it something allowed in Islam. Is this marriage valid? Please please let me know I’m very confused. Jazakallah

  1. Female Qazi in Turkish marriage https://youtu.be/QVqIO98Khes

  2. Female qazi in Indian Marriage https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thenewsminute.com/article/woman-qazi-conducts-marriage-victory-women-reclaiming-spaces-taken-men-95855%3famp

Answer

“Wa Alaykum Assalam Wa Rahmatullah,

So the nikah is absolutely valid, since an Imam only plays the role of a facilitator in a marriage contract. The actual contract takes place between the 2 parties (bride and groom) and 2 witnesses to that contract. The imam’s role is only to ensure that everything is taking place correctly. Therefore it is not absolutely necessary for the Imam or marriage officiant to be a male.

However, the question we should be asking ourselves is why? Why are these woman taking on the roles of Imams and trying to do things which the shariah does not command them to do? A woman should only be conducting a nikah if there are no men available to do the job, since the role of the Imam is to give a sermon and conclude with a du’a, and may even have to represent the bride in certain cases as her Wali if she doesn’t have one. This is not possible to do for a woman.

Also, the woman doing this should adorn herself with hijab and follow the Islamic dress code as she is considered at that moment a religious official that is representing the Shariah throughout this contract process.

Instead, what we see in the video and the article you mentioned seems to be done out of some form of rebellion against male imams with the attitude that a woman can and should conduct marriages despite there being male Imams available. Unfortunately this kind of rebellious feminist attitude that is anti-islamic is starting to creep more and more into our communities, and it is a poison and a plague whose consequences are the destruction of the fabric of society in general and of our Muslim communities especially.

 We have to remember that as Muslims, our example is Rasulullah SAAWS and the rightly-guided generations after him. Do we have any reports of women giving sermons and conducting marriages or leading people in prayer during those times? We absolutely do not. Therefore why do we seek to change the sunnah of the Prophet SAAWS in the name of modernism and feminism? Allah SWT and the Prophet PBUH’s religion is in no need of reformation and update. The deen of Allah SWT is complete, and whoever thinks otherwise or seeks to change it has gone off the path of guidance, may Allah SWT save us from this.

So the answer is that the nikah is correct and valid, but the method of going about it is probably not the best method, and Allah SWT knows best.

Wassalam!”