Marriage

==== Islam ====
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2011}}
{{Main|Islamic marital jurisprudence}}
[[File:Pakistani Marriage Culture Video.webm|thumb|Pakistani marriage culture video]]
[[File:Jeunes Mariés dans le parc dAk Saray (Shahrisabz) (6018352949).jpg|thumb|[[Newlywed]] couples visit [[Timur]]'s statues to receive wedding blessings in [[Uzbekistan]].]]
[[File:Signing the Nikah.jpg|thumb|A Muslim bride of [[Pakistan]] origin signing the ''nikkah nama'' or [[marriage certificate]]]]
[[File:Muslim wedding in India.jpg|thumb|A Muslim couple being wed alongside the [[Tungabhadra River]] at [[Hampi]], India]]

[[Islam]] also commends marriage, with the age of marriage being whenever the individuals feel ready, financially and emotionally.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Levy|first=Reuben|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCJgmiv7uZcC&q=the+social+structure+of+islam&pg=PA1|title=The Social Structure of Islam|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-20910-6|language=en}}</ref>

In Islam, [[polygyny]] is allowed while [[polyandry]] is not, with the specific [[Polygamy in Islam|limitation]] that a man can have no more than four legal wives at any one time and an unlimited number of [[Islamic views on concubinage|female slaves]] as [[Concubinage|concubines]] who may have rights similar wives, with the exception of not being free unless the man has children with them, with the requirement that the man is able and willing to partition his time and wealth equally among the respective wives and concubines (this practice of concubinage, as in Judaism, is not applicable in contemporary times and has been deemed by scholars as invalid due to shifts in views about the role of slavery in the world).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Connections . How Many Wives? {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/educators/women/lesson3a.html |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=www.pbs.org}}</ref>

For a Muslim wedding to take place, the bridegroom and the guardian of the bride (''[[wali]]'') must both agree on the marriage. Should the guardian disagree on the marriage, it may not legally take place. If the ''wali'' of the girl is her father or paternal grandfather, he has the right to force her into marriage even against her proclaimed will, if it is her first marriage. A guardian who is allowed to force the bride into marriage is called ''[[Marriage in Islam#Conditions|wali mujbir]]''.<ref>The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Vol. VIII, p. 27, Leiden 1995.</ref>

[[File:An Islamic wedding for a new Bride and groom.jpg|thumb|A [[Nigerians|Nigerian]] Islamic wedding]]

From an Islamic ([[Sharia]]) law perspective, the minimum requirements and responsibilities in a Muslim marriage are that the groom provide living expenses (housing, clothing, food, maintenance) to the bride, and in return, the bride's main responsibility is raising children to be proper Muslims. All other rights and responsibilities are to be decided between the husband and wife, and may even be included as stipulations in the marriage contract before the marriage actually takes place, so long as they do not go against the minimum requirements of the marriage.

In [[Sunni Islam]], [[Islamic marital jurisprudence|marriage]] must take place in the presence of at least two reliable witnesses, with the consent of the guardian of the bride and the consent of the groom. Following the marriage, the couple may consummate the marriage. To create an '[[urf]] marriage, it is sufficient that a man and a woman indicate an intention to marry each other and recite the requisite words in front of a suitable Muslim. The wedding party usually follows but can be held days, or months later, whenever the couple and their families want to; however, there can be no concealment of the marriage as it is regarded as public notification due to the requirement of witnesses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3079|title=The method of pronouncing the marriage formula}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090218220414/http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3078 Marriage formula]. sistani.org</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090218001957/http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3080 Conditions of pronouncing Nikah]. sistani.org</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3083|title=Women with whom matrimony is Haraam}}</ref>

In [[Shia Islam]], marriage may take place without the presence of witnesses as is often the case in temporary [[Nikah mut'ah]] (prohibited in Sunni Islam), but with the consent of both the bride and the groom. Following the marriage, they may consummate their marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.al-islam.org/muta-temporary-marriage-in-islamic-law-sachiko-murata/four-pillars-muta|title=The Four Pillars Of Mut'a|website=Al-Islam.org|date=27 September 2012}}</ref>