# What does the word nikah actually mean? *What is nikah? Its linguistic and technical meaning* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c8fjy8mcezm/s/2/ - Date: 2019-05-10 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Can a Nikah with a Non-Muslim be valid? - Mufti Abu Layth Al-Maliki (5:09–8:57) - Status: general teaching - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8fjy8MceZM&t=309s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c8fjy8mcezm/ **Topics:** The marriage contract; Quranic Arabic **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Linguistically nikah means sex; technically it is the marriage contract, a relationship of exclusivity with mutual rights. **Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that linguistically the term nikah just means sex, while technically it refers to the marriage contract. **Evidence, his words at 6:26:** “linguistically the term Nika just means sex that's all it means” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8fjy8MceZM&t=386s) ## Longer summary To explain the ruling, Mufti Abu Layth goes to the root of what a nikah is: a special or sacred relationship, usually of exclusivity with rights to and for one another, whose meaning can differ by context. He says that linguistically nikah just means sex, while as a technical term it refers to the marriage contract. He illustrates this with an anecdote about an Arabic social media post on attending a nikah that an automatic translation rendered crudely as a contract of sex, and says not to be surprised when translation tools render nikah as sex. ## Sources and names cited - nikah ## Transcript (machine tier, 5:09–8:57) [4:30] this that if a person is in an exclusive relationship that is known to people as it is an exclusive relationship then technically that is it seems to fulfill the conditions of an orphan occur okay because what is an orphan occur it is just exclusivity that's all it is just a bill to her will - that's it you know I accept I accept that's it there's nothing more to it now right so that would count as in the relationship is the okay so that relationship she can remain in that relationship if they [5:09] would in a relationship to start off with and okay then it's I mean it's her call anyway she doesn't have to I'm just saying that she could now okay so right now let's start getting into the explanation of how do we arrive at this and what is going on well first of all we've got to understand that this issue in and of itself right so to understand it better we got to go to the roots that what is a Nika first of all let's grasp grasp that so Anika is a relationship [5:49] that is kind of you know that's it's I would say sacred yeah in fact let's say sacred it's a it's a kind of special or a sacred relationship that people have now whatever that means to them it can mean something different in a different context but it's a it's a kind of sacred relationship that people have usually of exclusivity that's the kind of or there's some exclusive rights to and for one another now Nika Lou gotten Lou gotten just [6:26] means sex okay linguistically the term Nika just means sex that's all it means Estela and as terminology it's referring to the kind of contract that too that a couple have that's its technical usage its linguistic usage is just having sex and hence you got a you know what I read this is why you gotta be wary of Google Translate because I read this today somebody actually shared [7:00] a picture of my share who was I share who was reading a mica right so he's an arabic-speaking share and he posted in Arabic but the Google Translate or the on Facebook had the translation of the so he he had posted in Arabic that he was with he said mahi Micahel mala so Michael mala right who's by the way he's it's not his wedding it's not his kneecap but he was just the maybe he was reciting or something he says he acting [7:37] Nicola shots in Arthur Lisa McKay that's what he kind of wrote on his also it's an Instagram Instagram post so he wrote that I it's not me Kyle's mica but we just they I was there at this contract of Nika but Google translated it also read the automatic translation at the bottom said if my brother Michael mala right okay now this guy right now this got corrected right so okay so later on I think he corrected it but it said on there I'm one of the things that I can't [8:17] believe I don't know if this was somebody's messing around but he actually said it as within the contract of shagging the contract of shagging that's right so so don't be surprised that Google Translate in these things if they translate Nika as just sex because linguistically that's what kneecap means it just means that okay so I thought I'd just quote that because I just saw it today right but linguistically means this contract now all Muslims are in agreement that nicka [8:56] for Muslims has certain conditions okay that you must accept you know you must offer they must accept there must be some witnesses or an announcement or something like this that's for Muslims what about non-muslim Nakata so majority of all Muslims accept that non-muslim nikka in their own in their own way or valid for us okay even though they are not Muslim but if they valid for them then they are valid for us for them so for example if a couple came and they ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment c8fjy8MceZM/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c8fjy8mcezm/s/2/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.