Aqd in Arabic means contract. Islam considers Nikkah to be a contract and not a sacrament. Even though in Islam, Nikah is a religious sanction for individuals to have sexual relationships and to have children and live like a family, it considers marriage as a civil agreement, entered into by two individuals or those acting on their behalf. And because it is a contract (‘aqd), it conveys legal rights and obligations to each spouse.
Islamic jurisprudence, as elaborated by various schools of legal thought, considers the main purpose of the marriage contract to make intercourse lawful (halal) between a husband and wife and to legitimize any resulting offspring. Also, the marriage contract establishes further rights and duties for each spouse. It is basically required to treat each other well and good and each one’s rights and duties are differentiated by gender. They are also interdependent: a failure by one spouse to perform a specific duty may jeopardize his or her claim to a particular right.