Both spouses being free from impediments

Q 1: I made a written, endorsed Wakalah (appointment of a legally accountable person to act on behalf of another for a specific permissible matter) to a Muslim brother through the Yemeni Embassy in Jeddah, so that he might conclude my marriage contract to a Yemeni girl who lives in Yemen with her parents. I am a young Yemeni man living in Saudi Arabia, in the city of Al-Ta'if. I wrote the Wakalah in the presence of two witnesses. The girl's name is Latifah. However, when the Wakalah reached the Wakil (legally accountable person who acts on behalf of another for a specific permissible matter), he told me on the phone that the girl's real name is Amatul-Latif, whereas Latifah (Part No. 18; Page No. 120) is her nickname among her family and friends; it is just a contracted form of the name. I told the Wakil that I had no idea about this; I thought that Latifah was her real name; and I was ready to make another Wakalah including the real name. However, he said there was no need to do this, and that he was going to write her real name in the marriage contract. The court made sure of this, and her father confirmed that Latifah is the nickname for Amatul-Latif. The marriage contract was written in her real name, Amatul-Latif, and so was her passport. Thus, Amatul-Latif and Latifah are two names belonging to the same person. She lives with me now in Al-Ta'if. We have been married for about two weeks. Your Eminence, are the Wakalah and the contract considered valid? When I wrote the Wakalah, I had no idea that she had another name, which is her formal name. (Part No. 18; Page No. 121) Given the abovementioned circumstances, are the Wakalah and the contract valid?


A: As the Wakalah was made to conclude the marriage contract with a certain, known woman, and you wrote it in her nickname, which is part of her real name, the Wakalah is valid, and so is the marriage contract if all its conditions are met and none of its impediments are present. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.


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