Bigamy In Non-Muslim Society
It’s not about faking a divorce. It means it would be a divorce according to the definition of divorce under the country’s law. However, it is not necessarily a divorce as per the definition of divorce under Sharia. Similarly, the definition of a marriage contract according to a country’s law is different from the definition of a marriage contract (Nikah) as per Sharia. For instance, just having a marriage under a country’s law doesn’t make us husband and wife in the eyes of Sharia, and we have to take another step of having a Nikah to make it Sharia-approved. Then, how does a divorce decree by a country’s law cause a divorce without fulfilling the Sharia requirements of divorce? This is basically my initial question. Just to add an example, there are many people living in remote areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan where their marriages are not registered, and I personally know people with no legal documents like a Nikah-nama. Is their marriage not legal according to Sharia? Yes, they have failed to comply with the country’s law by not documenting it, but they haven’t done anything against Sharia. Lastly, it’s neither deception nor a live-in relationship because it is/will be publicly celebrated, especially within the Muslim community here, and generally even outside the Muslim community. The only difference is that the law doesn’t consider it a marriage, despite people knowing it is a marriage as per Sharia. Since the law doesn’t consider it a marriage, it is also not considered a violation of the monogamous marriage law.