 in islamic law (sharia), marriage (zawaj Ø²ÙØ§Ø¬) is a legal bond and social contract between a man and a woman. in islam, marriage is not compulsory and a muslim has the right to live a single life if he or she wishes to. one example is prophet isa, who neither married nor had any children.http://www.islamhelpline.net/node/4519 however, marriage is an act of sunnah therefore marriage is strongly recommended; the age of marriage being whenever the individuals feel ready, financially and emotionally.http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/ethics-and-values/muslim-character/166329-marriage-is-the-prophets-sunnah.html polygyny is permitted in islam under some conditions, but polyandry is forbidden.http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article308231.ece ==types of marriage== === nikah === thumb|a muslim bride signing the nikkah nama or marriage certificate.  nikah (arabic: ÙÙØ§Ø­, literally, "to collect and bind together")nikah.com information: definitiion of nikah (islamic marriage) is the first&mdash;and most common&mdash;form of marriage for muslims. it is described in the qur'an in surah 4:4. regulations: *while intended to be a permanent state, it can be terminated by the husband engaging in the talaq process or the wife seeking a khula. *the couple inherit from each other. *a legal contract is signed when entering the marriage. however it is not a requirement that the contract be in writing, it may be oral especially amongst illiterates. if an agreed end-date is determined in the nikah contract: **in sunni jurisprudence, the contract is voided. **in shia jurisprudence, the contract is transformed into a nikah mut'ah. requirement of witnesses: *sunni: either two (2) adult muslim males or one (1) adult muslim male and two (2) adult muslim females . *shia: two (2) adult muslim maleswitnesses for marriage permission from wali:nikah without parents knowledge? *sunni: compulsory (maliki, shafi'i, hanbali) or strongly recommended (hanafi) *shia: depending on the scholar, it is either obligatory or obligatory based on precaution. === nikah mutâah ===  nikah mutâah (arabic: ÙÙØ§Ø­ ÙØªØ¹Ø©, temporary marriageanswering-ansar.org :: mut'ah, a comprehensive guide), often referred as fixed-time marriage. many of these marriages have a time limit, and is the second form of marriage, and is referred to in al-qur'an in surah an-nisa ayat 24, 4:24("Ø§Ø³ÙØªÙÙÙØªÙØ¹ÙØª
Fiqh Marriage_in_Islam