Editing Islamic marital jurisprudence (section)

===Nikah/Islamic marriage contract===
{{Main|Islamic marriage contract}}
A Muslim marriage is a simple, legal agreement in which either partner is free to include conditions. These conditions are stipulated in a written contract. Violating any of the conditions stipulated in this contract is legal grounds for a partner seeking divorce. The first part of the "marriage ceremony" of the ''nikah'' is the signing of the marriage contract itself.

The marriage should have an offer or proposal (''ijab'') from the wali of the bride (or the person who is acting in his place), made to the groom saying in effect, “I marry [name of bride] to you”.<ref name="IQA-Wali-1998"/>

Various traditions may differ in how Nikah is performed because different groups accept different texts as authoritative. Therefore, Sunnis will likely accept the [[hadith]] of [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]], while Shia will have their own collections, for example [[Kitab al-Kafi|Furu al-Kafi]], thus producing different procedures. This contract requires the consent of both parties. There is a tradition in some Muslim countries to pre-arrange a marriage for young children. However, the marriage still requires consent for the wedding to legally take place.