Married Yet Not Married: The UK Legal Status of an Islamic Nikkah
As part of our celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, LGFL’s Managing Director Rita Gupta and paralegal Dheeba Ali explain why an Islamic Nikkah marriage will not be legally binding if performed here in the UK.
Every year in the UK, thousands of Muslim couples choose to get married under Islamic / Shariah law with a Nikkah ceremony. This religious marriage ceremony can be held in a family home, a mosque or a venue such as a restaurant. The Nikkah is both a celebration and a formal agreement, with both parties entering into a contract when the couple officially state “I accept.”
Married yet not married
Many Muslims consider that a Nikkah has more significance than a UK civil marriage ceremony. Many also automatically assume that after their Nikkah, they are legally husband and wife.
This is not the case. Islamic marriages that take place in the UK are not legally binding under current UK law. In order to be legally married in the UK, Nikkah-wed couples need to have a separate UK civil marriage ceremony.
According to a 2017 survey, 61% of women who had a traditional Muslim wedding ceremony in the UK had not gone through a separate civil ceremony which would make the marriage legal under UK law.
Without a civil marriage ceremony, couples will not have their marriage entered in a UK register of marriages, or have a UK legal marriage certificate. Legally, their relationship status will be categorised as “cohabiting” by official organisations including HMRC and the Home Office.
As the UK Parliament website states:
“The law generally regards parties to a marriage which is not legally recognised as cohabitants, and their marriage as a “non-marriage”, rather than as a void marriage.”
This status of cohabiting is also culturally difficult, as Islam does not allow this kind of relationship. Within the Muslim community, any relationship between couples is only halal (pure) by way of a Nikkah under Shariah law.
Traditional Islamic weddings: the courts’ view
In 1998, Nasreen Akhter and Mohammed Shabaz Khan had an Islamic wedding ceremony in a restaurant in London with 150 guests. They had every intention of having a separate civil wedding, but four children and 18 years later, the couple separated. Mrs Akhter, a solicitor, subsequently petitioned for divorce, but Mr Khan, a businessman, responded that they were not legally married.
In 2018, the High Court ruled that the ceremony did fall within English marriage law. Mr Justice Williams took into consideration that the couple:
"Had been embarking on a process which was intended to include a civil ceremony, which would have created a valid marriage, and that the nature of the Nikah ceremony in which they had participated bore all the hallmarks of a marriage in that it was held in public, witnessed, officiated by an Imam, involved the making of promises and confirmation that both the husband and wife were eligible to marry... (So) The marriage fell within the scope of section 11 of the 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act as a marriage."
However, in 2020, the Court of Appeal over-ruled, stating that there was "No ceremony in respect of which a decree of nullity could be granted". The court explained that this was because the religious marriage ceremony was not performed at a place registered for weddings, a registrar had not been present, and no marriage certificates had been issued.
As an article at The Oxford Human Rights Hub notes:
"The precedent set by the case is that individuals who enter religious marriages knowing that they do not satisfy the formalities will be held to be in non-qualifying ceremonies. The only risk-free option is a registered marriage conducted in a legally acceptable venue."
Legal benefits of a civil marriage ceremony
Overall, UK married couples have more legal rights than cohabiting couples, both whilst they are together and if they separate too.
- Currently, cohabitees have less rights under inheritance rules, being unable to automatically inherit their partner’s estate tax-free, for example. At the time of writing, a married couple can leave assets worth up to £1 million to their spouse tax-free.
- Other financial breaks, discounts and allowances for married couples are not available to cohabitees. A partner may not be entitled to their partner’s pension unless they are named as the beneficiary, for example. As the Money Helper website explains:
“If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, and separate from your partner … neither party is automatically entitled to a share of the other’s pension.”
- If cohabitees separate, neither can file a financial remedy claim for income and assets to be divided fairly, including pensions.
- Cohabitees may not be automatically regarded as next of kin over blood relations if their partner falls seriously ill and /or is incapacitated (see our article on “who is your next of kin” for more details).
Cohabiting agreements
Cohabiting couples can protect themselves to some degree through key measures including:
- Making a Will
- Drawing up a cohabitation agreement
- Registering Legal Power of Attorneys
- Drawing up a declaration of trust if they own property
For more details see our Cohabitation Agreements page.
Nikkah weddings and civil marriage ceremonies
Couples who are married under Shariah law may not wish to have a particularly high-profile civil marriage. A UK civil marriage can be a very straightforward occasion, conducted in under an hour at a local registry office with just the couple, the registrar and two witnesses present.
Validity of Nikkah ceremonies held outside the UK
If a couple conduct their Nikkah ceremony abroad, the UK will only consider it a valid marriage in the UK if it was conducted in accordance with the law of the land in which it was celebrated. This can be difficult to establish. Please contact us to discuss your particular circumstances and check your Nikkah’s status.
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