A Scientific and comparative study of Four Schools of thoughts Regarding the Definition, Interpretation and Applied Forms of Nikāh.

Abstract

Nikah is a sacrosanct social contract in Islamic Sharia that brings a man and a woman into formal and lawful relationship as husband and wife and creates the institution of family to serve a number of objectives of Sharia. In view of its centrality in Islamic social life, it has attracted significant scholarly debate among scholars of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence. However, it is not easy for ordinary readers to grasp in the finer conceptual aspects that attend the concept of Nikah, more so in view of the enormity of the scholarly works on the subject penned down by scholars of the different schools of Muslim jurisprudence. Based on the analysis of the views and explanations of some leading men of letters of various schools, this article attempts to frame a kaleidoscopic picture of the concept of Nikah in Islam, its literal meaning, and the various tricky points related to Nikah. In doing so, it compares and analyses the juridical opinions of the jurists of the four schools. As a qualitative research, it is primarily textual and critical analysis of the written and published works of the scholars on the issues being examined. It entails hermeneutics, thematic analysis and synthesis of various views in order to derive and clarify key themes and issues related to the concept of Nikah.