Why is the state legalising void marriages?

The Kedah government has recently taken measures to facilitate the marriage registration of Muslim couples who have previously solemnised their marriages in Thailand and not registered their union upon returning.

According to Kedah Islamic Religious Committee chairman Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid, the programme was meant to protect the welfare of the wives concerned and to prevent their children from ending up stateless, and not to promote illicit marriages.

Similarly, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department also launched a special "Jom Daftar Nikah" programme on Aug 1, for couples residing in Selangor who were married before Jan 1, 2017, but who had failed to register their marriage legally.

Last year, the Islamic Religious Affairs, Islamic Education and Personality Development Committee of Perak which runs a mass wedding programme for newlyweds stated that it is also considering the proposal to introduce a mass polygamy wedding package, for the same reason as Kedah and Selangor.

With all these state Islamic Religious Departments poking their noses into people’s marital affairs, I wonder - don't state governments have anything better to do? Why the “jaga tepi kain orang” (busybody) attitude?

There are many other social matters which need the support of state religious authorities. I hereby take the liberty to mention a few:

1. Many divorce procedures do not get through because the husbands are unwilling to ‘release’ their wives, causing many problems for women and their children;
    
2. Many divorced women do not receive alimony they are entitled to;
    
3. Many single mothers are struggling without receiving enough (and timely) child support from their exes;
    
4. Many wives are tormented in abusive relationships, fearing to walk out of the marriage;
    
5. Many husbands/wives are refused child visitation rights by their exes

Now, why are the religious departments not doing anything about the issues above?

While the people associated with illegal marriages get special treatment, do those who solemnise their marriages lawfully end up being neglected?

Perhaps the religious authorities have a soft spot for those solemnising their marriages out of the country, eh?

Or maybe there is another reason compelling them to show much grace towards those who solemnise their marriages illegally.

Hmm…

A baffling situation

According to the religious authorities, among the causes of a marriage being secretly solemnised abroad are a guardian's (wali) disapproval to the union (hence the use of dubious guardians), and a refusal to adhere to the procedure (approval of the registrar) by the couple.

In Islam, rukun (or the pillar) is the core rule that governs a Muslim’s actions. Likewise, there are five rukun nikah (or the pillars of marriage) – a groom, a bride, a wali (guardian of the bride), two witnesses and ijab/qabul (a marital vow).

Each of the rukun above has their own requirements that must absolutely be fulfilled. Failing to fulfil any of the rukun results in the marriage being null & void.

When marriages are solemnised out of the country without the attendance of a legitimate wali (guardian), the nikah becomes null and void.

Likewise, under Malaysian law, although it is legal for Muslim men to marry as many as four wives, they must obtain permission from a Syariah Court to marry more than one.

From the Islamic point of view, when a person tries to bypass the above Islamic requirement by, say, solemnising their marriage out of the country, the nikah is technically null and void.

And when a nikah is null & void, any marital relationship is adultery. Any children resulting from this adultery is an illegitimate child.

I don’t know about you folks, but I am greatly baffled.

Why are our religious authorities, whose responsibility is to safeguard and uphold the sanctity of Islam in Malaysia, taking the easy way out by legitimising what Islamic law does not approve?

While our religious authorities harass and arrest Muslims suspected of close proximity and penalise children born out of wedlock, why then are they providing a clear path to legalise adultery in the form of legalising void marriages?

Perhaps I should think outside the box in order to understand the basis of legalising what is in essence illegal.

I believe that if the marriage is not legalised, these so-called married couples will continue to commit adultery, which will result in a generation of illegitimate children.

Therefore by putting forth an avenue to legalise the marriage, the authorities are trying to keep a lid on this big can of worms.

Sadly, while there is nothing in the Qur'an which provides grounds for legalising adultery, our religious authorities are taking the easy way out by recognising invalid marriages instead of addressing the real issue and finding a way to curb it.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini