Before I give my opinion regarding your specific questions, I would like you to fully appreciate that there are two separate aspects in the practice of the directives of the Shari`ah regarding social issues and interactions. First, and of prime importance, is to understand the recommendations of the Shari`ah relating to a given social contract or interaction. Second, in case of a disregard - due to any reason - toward these directives of the Shari`ah, an opinion be formed or a decision be given regarding the validity or otherwise of the particular social contract or interaction. The first aspect relates primarily to the understanding of the directives of the Shari`ah, while the second aspect relates to the judicature or the administration and the implementation of the directives of the Shari`ah, on particular instances of deviations from such directives.

As far as the teachings and recommendations of the Shari`ah regarding a Nikah (marriage) ceremony are concerned, the basic necessary ingredients that should be present in a marriage, according to the recommendations of Islam, are:

Marriage should primarily be a contract that materializes from the expression of the intent of a man and a woman to live the rest of their lives as husband and wife. This contract should be based on the free consent of the man and the woman. In other words, it should not be a temporary contract (i.e. a marital contract for a specified period of time) or one, which is based on coercion and force.

There should be a general declaration of the marriage in the society. Islam does not recognize a secret marital contract. The declaration of the marriage may take any shape or form that is generally adopted in the society. For instance, inviting friends and relatives to the marriage ceremony is an acceptable method of this declaration. Holding two or more persons as witnesses to the marriage contract is also a legislated method for such declaration adopted in various societies and cultures.

The man should give a mutually agreed upon amount as what the Islamic Shari`ah (law) terms as 'Mehr' to the woman. The factors that may be considered in the settlement of the amount of 'Mehr' include the financial position and the social status of the man and the woman. A woman may refuse marriage merely on the basis of the fact that she considers the amount of 'Mehr' to be inadequate. 'Mehr' is a basically a token from the man, given to his wife, to express and symbolize the fact that he is willing and capable to fulfill the financial responsibility of the family that would be formed subsequent to the marriage contract. It may be mentioned here that although Islam does not prohibit a woman to take up a financial activity of her choice, yet puts the ultimate responsibility of providing for the family on the husband.

The above are the recommendations of the Shari`ah relating to the marriage or the Nikah ceremony. However, this does not necessarily imply that any Nikah, which does not fulfill any of the stipulated recommendations, shall be declared void or shall not be recognized by the law. The decision regarding whether a particular Nikah, which has not fulfilled any of the stipulated conditions, be recognized as legal or not rests with a competent judicial authority, rather than an expert of the Shari`ah. In other words, the decision regarding the legal recognition of the Nikah rests with the competent court of law.

On the other hand, if the words "only one witness is present" imply that the Nikah document is signed by one person only, even though the Nikah ceremony was held in a socially recognized manner, in the presence of a number of relatives and friends of the husband and wife, then the issue is not one of lack of compliance with the directives of the Shari`ah, but is one of lack of compliance with the law of the land. The decision regarding the legal recognition (or otherwise) of the marriage, nevertheless, would still rest with the competent legal authority.

The primary purpose of holding witnesses on contracts - whether social or economic - is to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. It is primarily because of this reason that only mature and intelligent persons[1] should be asked to stand witness on such occasions. However, this does not imply that the witness of a 15-year old is void. On the contrary, a court may, if it is satisfied of the reliability of such a witness accept it and pass a decision on its basis.

For the position of the consent of the parents or that of the Wali (i.e. the guardian) in a Nikah, please refer to Shehzad Saleem's "Parental Consent in Marriage" and Asif Iftikhar's "Wali's consent in Marriage".

In case a person has lied about his financial and marital position, while entering a marriage contract, the marriage may be given legal recognition if the woman is willing to put up with the man, even in the face of such false statements. Nevertheless, if the woman does not want to live her life with a person, who has initiated the sacred relationship of a husband and wife with on a lie, the court may hold the contract of marriage as void and refuse recognition of such a Nikah. However, if that is not the case, then the woman may apply for dissolution of such a Nikah contract.

A marriage should only be refused legal recognition, before any conjugal relations have been established between the man and the woman. Not recognizing a marriage even after the establishment of conjugal relations between the man and the woman is likely to have serious socio-moral repercussions for the individuals concerned as well as for the child that may have been conceived by the woman. In keeping with the above-stated opinion, I hold that if the couple does not want to live as man and wife (after the establishment of conjugal relations), they should opt for divorce rather than seeking invalidation of the marriage. In such a case, the dowry shall be paid to the woman in full.

However, if the court has declared a marriage to be invalid or void[2],
the man shall not be responsible for the payment of the dowry.

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