Fatwa No : 44211
Offering and acceptance of marriage through a phone call

Offering and acceptance of marriage through a phone call

A boy said to a girl on the phone, in the absence anyone else, “I have accepted you for marriage. Do you accept?” three times. The girl then replied saying, “I have accepted”, three times. Has their Nikah (marriage) been contracted in this scenario? The girl’s Wali (guardian) approves of the marriage, but she did not seek his permission in the beginning. There were also no witnesses present. Please guide us as per Shari’ah regarding this issue.

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

It is necessary for the contraction of a marriage that both parties (boy and girl, or an agent appointed on his/her behalf) and their witnesses be physically present (in the same gathering) at the time of Ijab and Qabool (offer and acceptance). However, this is not the case when it comes to marriages that take place through phone or video calls, hence, such a marriage is not contracted. Therefore, since the above mentioned conditions were not fulfilled, the marriage of the boy and girl in question has not been contracted, and it is not permissible for them to live as spouses thinking that their marriage has taken place after doing Ijab and Qubool through their phone call. This must be avoided.
And Allah knows best.