Owner of ‘Trial Marriage’ initiative in Egypt to be sued for ‘disturbing public peace’

CAIRO – 21 January 2021: Head of the syndicate of Maazons (marriage officiants) Islam Maher said that he would file a lawsuit against a lawyer who issued a new initiative called “trial marriage” that created a state of controversy in society.

 

The initiative, which was announced by Egyptian lawyer Ahmed Mahran in October 2020, calls upon married spouses to sign a time-specific contract that will be attached with a marriage contract. During the period of time, the spouses will test each other and see whether each party would abide by the contract terms or not. In case of violating one of the contract terms by one party, the second one has a legal right to end the marriage contract.

 

 In remarks to Youm7, Maher added that the lawyer should be sued for “terrifying citizens, disturbing public peace, and fabricating a new marriage contract.”

 

The head of the marriage officiants said that this initiative could encourage husbands and wives to put terms that contradict religion and consequently make their marriage contract invalid.

 

In terms of Islamic jurisprudence, this initiative is invalid and prohibited, according to a decision issued by Al-Azhar Sheikhdom, one of the world’s most pioneering Sunni Islamic institute.

 

“Marriage is a strong bond that it is impermissible to tamper with. It [any marriage contract] requires no separation between two spouses after a period of five years or less or more than that in the so-called #Trial_Marriage. This is a corrupt condition that has no significance. The stipulation of terminating a marriage contract with the expiration of a certain period makes the contract void and prohibited, Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center on Sunday.

 

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Dar al-Iftaa - Egypt’s independent body that specialized in issuance of fatwas (Islamic laws and decisions) announced early Tuesday that after studying the initiative by a group of scholars, it has been found that this initiative contradicts with the Islamic Sharia and the social norms.

 

“The trial marriage is a term that carries negative meanings intruding into the values of Egyptian religious society. It has been used to achieve false fame and cheap propaganda in cyberspace,” Dar al-Iftaa said in a statement on Tuesday.