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Fatwa CenterWants to get out of a civil marriage contract
Question
asalmu aleikum.
i am a converty, i have married a muslim through civil marriege (non muslim service), i didnot know all about the islam as i know today' elhamdullilah.
he wanted to get citizenship only and was laughing at me and abussing me savirlly. i have finally had the strength to leave him, but he wouldn't divorce me through the state. now after over 3 years we are not in touch and i haven't been with him. i would like to get married by islam law, to another muslim. must i get a divorce? (even though by islam law' i lived with him in haram and we were not married at all). what proccedure must be done if any, so i could get married? for further information please contact my mail. thank you so much, suzanne. assalmu aleikum.
Answer
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
To the best of our knowledge, a civil marriage contract is concluded before a civil court in the presence of two witnesses in addition to the man and the woman.
This marriage is invalid according to the opinion of the majority of scholars, because they set the consent of the Wali (woman’s guardian) as a condition. However, Abu Haneefah 
sees that this marriage is valid, but the opinion of the majority of the scholars is preponderant, as there are many evidences supporting it. For more benefit, refer to Fataawa 85057 and 86348.
Consequently, there is disagreement regarding the validity of this marriage and ending it requires either divorce by the husband or its annulment by the judge. If this man refused to divorce you, you can file your case before a Sharee`ah-based court or an Islamic centre if you are living in a non-Islamic country to ward off the harm from you by forcing the husband to divorce or annulling the marriage by the judge or whoever acts on his behalf.
On the other hand, it is prohibited for you to marry before the divorce or the annulment of the marriage. If this man has consummated his marriage with you, then, it is impermissible for you to marry before the lapse of your ‘Iddah (waiting period), which starts from the date of the divorce verdict from the judge or officials of the Islamic centre (for more information, see Fataawa 89727 and 83629.
Finally, we draw your attention to two issues:
- The Muslim should be keen on asking about the matters of his religion that he does not know, particularly that the means for this have become available today.
- The Muslim woman should be aware of the tricks of those who want to exploit her, as is the case with marriage for the sake of getting citizenship.
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