Contractual Stipulations Under Classic Islamic Law and Current Marriage Contracts in USA

Abstract

This article focuses on stipulations in a Muslim marriage contract with reference to the case of the United States of America(USA). Under classical Islamic work, the majority of Jurists (Jamhur) classify those stipulations as valid or invalid. Valid stipulations are permissible because those promote the objectives of the marriage contract. Invalid stipulations are prohibited for their inconsistency with the principles of Shari'ah. Yet another category of stipulations benefiting the women could be found in a marriage contract. Interestingly,this category is neither prohibited in clear terms nor is expressly allowed. After the conclusion of a marriage contract, Jamhur restrict the insertion of subsequent stipulations, while Hanbali School allows the addition of such stipulations provided it would be of extrinsic nature.In this context, this paper attempts to determine the role and status of stipulations in marriage contracts on the criterion of its beneficial nature for wives.