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HIDDEN MARRIAGE

Marriage is a bond through a valid marriage contract to legitimize the relationship between a man and a woman living together as husband and wife and exercising their respective rights and responsibilities.

The word of Allah SWT in surah Al Nur, verse 32 which means:

"And marry single people (male and female) from among you, and righteous people from among your servants, male and female. If they are poor, God will give them wealth from His bounties because God is Vast (His mercy and His bounties), and All-Knowing.”

This verse explains the encouragement to get married because of the importance and beauty of marriage. But this beauty is sometimes tainted by the negative attitude of the husband or wife. A valid marriage must be recognized, not hidden in other words, must be recorded and registered according to law.

Nowadays, there are still parties who hide their marital status. They hide from the knowledge of guardians, family or wife because of certain interests. There are many reasons why this can happen, such as marrying a non-citizen who does not have a clear personal record, marrying due to the excess of a spouse, polygamy and so on.

In fact, Islam demands that the marriage should be announced to the family, neighbors, relatives and close friends and that it should not be hidden so as not to cause any slander.

As in a hadith from Aishah Radhiallahuanha said that the Prophet SAW said:

"Spread the wedding." (HR: Tirmidhi).

In another Hadith from Anas bin Malik Radhiallahuanhu he said that the Prophet SAW said:

"Have a wedding feast (walimah) even if it's only with a goat." (HR: Bukhari).

Based on the records of religious authorities, there are many cases of marriages carried out secretly or syndicated, either in the country or abroad. This marriage is not attempted to be registered by the couple until the couple's children have grown up and want to get married. There are parties who register marriages after an urgent situation, as a result, the Registrar of Marriages at the Department of Islamic Religion is urged and scolded while the negligence is from themselves.

This unregistered marriage can have a lot of impact or bad effects on oneself, family and even society. Among them:

First: Mistreatment of the wife. Wives whose husbands have died face difficulties claiming inheritance because there is no proof of marriage registration, only the deceased husband knows all the affairs and process of their syndicate marriage. This situation increases the difficulty for the wife to manage the registration privately in order to claim rights in her late husband's inheritance.

Second: There is self-status fraud for other marriage purposes. Since marriages are not registered, a person's status cannot be proven whether they are single, widowed or married. As a result, there are cases of husbands who have polygamy without permission and there are also cases of wives who have two husbands.

Third: Child abuse. This is because children born from unregistered marriages will be registered at the National Registration Department as illegitimate children.

Fourth: Disorder of lineage or descent. A marriage that is not registered can cause the same mahram marriage as the marriage of siblings, mothers or uncles and so on. This matter will affect the marriage because it needs to be separated or separated.

Fifth: It is difficult for a daughter to get married because her father's marriage is not officially registered. It gives pressure and difficulty to the child to complete the marriage application documents according to the rules and procedures that have been set.

Is a father capable of persecuting the children just because of reluctance, selfishness and neglect to ensure his marriage is recognized?

Is a husband capable of letting his lineage not be recognized from a legal point of view just because he refuses to register the marriage?

Is a husband able to let his widow moan about the bad effects they received after his death?

Is a husband sure that the hidden marriage is a valid marriage according to Sharia? There are cases where the court does not confirm the marriage, even though the husband has died. The question is, what is the law of their relationship so far?

The act of binding a relationship with a valid marriage contract but not managed to be registered according to the law is an injustice against oneself, one's wife and even children. It also makes it difficult for other parties involved, such as the Department of Islamic Religion from the point of view of marriage registration records, the National Registration Department from the point of view of child birth registration and the Department of Justice from the point of view of determining the lineage of children and claims arising from marriage.

Islam is a just religion and forbids injustice. Including the tyranny that occurs in the realm of marriage. Is a husband capable of leaving his children and wife when they are oppressed? There are verses in the Quran and hadiths of the Prophet SAW that condemn and forbid unjust acts.

Allah SWT says in Surat Hud verse 18:

"Remember, God's curse (is placed) on the unjust people."

If we heed the message and warning of the Prophet SAW about the importance of treating the wife well, of course the domestic life will be decorated with beauty and paradise for every married couple.

Hadith from Abu Hurairah RA that the Prophet SAW said which means:

"Be good to women. Because women were created from ribs. Indeed, the most bent rib is the upper part. If you try to straighten it (roughly), you will break it. If you let it, the bone will still be bent. So do good to women." (HR: Bukhari & Muslim).

Let us all take some lessons to be a guide in our lives which are:

Muslims should be convinced and aware that a marriage between husband and wife is the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW and the Shari'a that is strongly demanded by religion.
Muslims need to prioritize the good of the community by publicizing and registering a marriage because it is a demand of Islam and the law of the country.
Every Muslim should know that marriage is a great trust and responsibility from Allah SWT.
Every Muslim should try to avoid any problems or slander to the family left behind when his death has arrived.

The words of Allah SWT in Surah al-Nisa verse 58:

"Indeed, Allah commanded you to hand over all kinds of trusts to their members (who are entitled to receive them) and when you administer the law between people, (God commanded) you punish justly. Indeed, Allah with (His order) gives you the best lesson. Verily, Allah is always Listening, and always Seeing".

Therefore, think about the consequences and the end if you don't want to cause problems in the future, don't think it's fun today but the ones who bear it are the innocent children. Wallahu A'lam

(Edited from the JAIS Sermon read on August 9, 2024)

Date of Input: 28/10/2024 | Updated: 28/10/2024 | asmunir

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