Assalamalaykum, I have a court marriage with my wife. We used to study in the same university and developed a liking for each other. I dropped out of university and became religious. She too, became religious but was still studying. Her family had a big problem with this as they were very modern and hence blamed me for influencing her. I proposed marriage and her family rejected. They would beat her and put her down when she was trying to observe hijab and follow other injunctions. She wanted to leave her family because of the way she was being treated. I consulted my family and we decided that a court marriage would be a good option in order to "save" this girl. I also consulted a scholar. We did the nikkah and she went back home. She stayed there for 2 months during which both families tried to convince each other. Her family was asking us to annul the marriage and we were asking them to go ahead with it. Finally they agreed to proceed and we had a big social event to announce the marriage. Now its been 2 years and we have a daughter but we are still unsure if this marriage is valid and this becomes a huge burden on us and affects our relationship. Please clarify whether 1) Was the court married justified and valid? 2) If not, was it in wrong on my part (as I consulted my elders and a scholar and if they had rejected I would not have gone forward) or my wife’s? 3) Does the announcement of the marriage and the fact that we had a proper social event make the marriage valid? 4) If the marriage is invalid then what should we do now? 5) Should we attempt to finish it off or try and convince her parents to accept it and my family? 6) What happens to the child in case of a divorce? I would be greatly obliged if you could give us some advice regarding this matter as it is a huge burden on both of us. Wasalam.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If this woman was unjustifiably prevented by her guardian from marrying a suitable and competent man whose religion and moral conduct are pleasing, then she was right in taking the matter to the Muslim judge. If this marriage was conducted by the Muslim judge, then it is a valid marriage. In which case, you should continue your life with your wife as normal and have good marital relationships with her and you should not take into consideration any whispers that you may have in this regard.

Moreover, you should be keen on bringing up your daughter according to the creed and morals of Islam. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 130284 and 89782.

Allaah Knows best.