Nahariyyat (marriage on condition of day only)

Nahariyyat, the plural of nahariyya, is for the Hanafis a woman whom a man marries on condition that he be with her by day and not by night. The marriage is valid and the condition void; it is an example of how invalid conditions treat a marriage. ^{1 2}

Nahariyyat is the plural of nahariyya, from the day. In the term it is a woman whom a man marries on condition that he stays with her by day rather than by night. ¹ The Hanafis say there is no harm in marrying such women; the contract is valid with the condition, even if the condition does not bind. Its form is that the condition is stated in the contract. The author of al-Bahr says the condition should not bind her, and she may ask to spend the night with him, since night is the basis of division and day follows it. That applies when she has a co-wife and the condition is that he stays with her by day and with the co-wife by night; if she has no co-wife, it is apparent she may not demand the night, especially if his duty is the night, like a watchman. ^{1 2} The principle in the other schools. The name is Hanafi, and the schools do not seem to use it; the principle is the same: the effect of invalid conditions on a marriage. If the condition agrees with the marriage's nature, such as maintenance or the turn, or does not agree but has no lawful purpose, as a condition that she eat only so-and-so, it is void and the marriage stands. If it contradicts the marriage's nature without harming its essential purpose, such as a condition that he take no other wife or that she have no maintenance, the marriage stands and the condition is void, and that includes the day-only condition. They reason that such conditions refer to an added matter that need not be named, so they do not void the marriage, just as a marriage stands although the consideration is unknown. ²