Taking One of the names of the Bride Print
Kitabut Talaq [Divorce] - Sundry Masail

Taking One of the names of the Bride

Question: The bride s name is Rayhana Banu bint Abdul Kareem and it is by this name that she was known at school and it is according to this name that she is registered. However, there are some people who call her Maryam and it so happened that this name was written on the wedding invitation. However. her proper name Rayhana Banu bint Abdul Kareem was used when the marriage was made and this was the name recorded in the marriage register. In fact, her in-laws and their family know her by this name and it is by this name that they proposed. However, after a few days of the marriage. people are starting to say that the marriage is invalid because the wedding invitation stated the name Maryam, which was not the name used in the marriage ceremony, is the marriage valid?

Answer: It is necessary in a marriage for the name of the bride to be specified beyond doubt and the witnesses need to know with certainly who the bride and the groom are. If the representative of the bride is present in the gathering and there will be no ambiguity by stating merely the bride's first name, it will suffice to state only the. However, if any doubts still remain after stating only the first name, the bride's complete name together with the names of her father and (if need be) her grandfather may also be stated.

If everyone at the marriage ceremony know well that Rayhana Banu is the daughter of Abdul Kareem, that it is her who is being married to the groom and if this name is taken at the time, the marriage will be valid. There need not be any doubts. The error in the invitation would have been rectified by the marriage ceremony and will therefore not affect the validity of the marriage.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.3