Editing Marriage in Islam (section)

== Terminology ==
In the Hans Wehr [[Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic]], {{lang|ar-Latn|nikah}} is defined as "marriage; marriage contract; matrimony, wedlock".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Hans |last=Wehr |author-link=Hans Wehr|editor-first=J. Milton |editor-last=Cowan |editor-link=J Milton Cowan|year=1976 |title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |publisher=Spoken Language Services |edition= 3rd |page=997 |isbn=978-0-87950-001-6}}</ref> In the [[Quran]], nikah is used to refer to the contract of marriage.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last1=Schacht |first1=J. |last2=Layish |first2=A. |last3=Shaham |first3=R. |last4=Ansari |first4=Ghaus |last5=Otto |first5=J. M. |last6=Pompe |first6=S. |last7=Knappert |first7=J. |last8=Boyd |first8=Jean |year= 2012 |title=Nikāḥ |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition= 2nd |publisher=Brill |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |doi= 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0863 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first1=Azizah Y. | last1=al-Hibri |first2=Hadia |last2=Mubarak|title=Marriage and Divorce|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor-first=John L. |editor-last=Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|url=http://oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0507|url-access=subscription |access-date=2019-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326090920/http://oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0507|archive-date=2016-03-26|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=cornell59>Vincent J. Cornell (2007), ''Voices of life: family, home, and society''. p. 59–60 (Marriage in Islam by Nargis Virani).</ref> According to at least a couple of sources -- Ibrahim B. Syed and the Ahlan Foundation -- the Quran also uses "a strong agreement"  ({{langx|ar| مِّيثَـٰقًا غَلِيظًۭا|translit=mithaqun ghalithun}}),  in verse Q.4:21,  to refer to marriage.<ref name=irfi-SSMaMiI>{{cite web|url=http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/same_sex_marriage_and_marriage_i.htm |title=Same Sex Marriage and Marriage in Islam. ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE |work=irfi.org |access-date=13 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="IMB">{{cite web |title=Islam Marriage Beliefs |url=https://explore-islam.com/islam-marriage-beliefs/ |website=Explore Islam |publisher=Ahlan Foundation |access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref> 
{{efn|Ibrahim B. Syed also states, "The Quran also uses the Arabic word "''Hisn''", suggesting "fortress" for marriage. Marriage is considered the fortress of chastity."<ref name=irfi-SSMaMiI/>}}{{efn|In some Muslim cultures, such as [[Pakistan]], nikah may not begin married life in the form of consummation and living together, as that event is known as  ''rukhsati''. The gap in time between ''nikah'' and ''rukhsati'' occurs while the prospective wife waits for her prospective husband to get a good job, a home and produce her [[dower]]/''mahr''. But many consider this a cultural and not an Islamic practice.)<ref name="Birjas-2020">{{cite web |last1=Birjas |first1=Yaser |title=How Intimate Can a Couple be Post-Nikkah, but Pre-Marriage? |url=https://muslimmatters.org/2020/03/22/podcast-how-intimate-can-a-couple-be-post-nikkah-but-pre-marriage-yaser-birjas/ |website=Muslim Matters |date=22 March 2020 |access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref>}}

In Arabic-speaking countries, marriage is commonly called ''zawāj'' ({{langx|ar|زواج}}, from the [[Quran]]ic term ''zawj'' ({{langx|ar|زوج}}), referring to a member of a pair), and this term has recently gained currency among Muslim speakers of other languages as well. 

The marriage contract is known by different names: [[Modern Standard Arabic|Literary Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|عقد القران}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʿaqd al-qirān}}'', "[[wikt:matrimony|matrimony]] contract"; {{langx|ur|نکاح نامہ}} / [[ALA-LC]]: ''{{transliteration|ur|ALA-LC|Nikāḥ-nāmah}}''; {{langx|bn|আকদ|''akd''}}; {{langx|fa|ازدواج}} {{lang|fa-Latn|ezdevāj}} "marriage" and {{lang|fa|سند ازدواج}} or {{lang|fa|عقدنامه}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|sǎnǎde ezdevāj}}, {{lang|fa-Latn|aqd nāmeh}}) for the certificate. The marriage celebration may be called ''ʿurs / zawāj'' ({{langx|ar|زواج / عرس}}), ''ezdewaj/arusi'' (Persian), ''shaadi'' (Urdu), ''biye/biya'' (Bengali) or ''düğün'' (Turkish).<ref name=cornell59/>