BaasAbuur wrote:engagement is only a means of the man letting the woman know he is interested in her, and wishes to marry her. They're not lawful to each other, because the engagement happens before the marriage contract takes place.
Wallahi I have never heard of such thing and now you got me curious. So if a couple are engaged, they are not allowed to be together unless they have a marriage contract? And what exactly is a marriage contract and how does it different from engagement? I have on more than once attended engagement(nikaax) ceremonies of family members and after that event was over, the man and the woman were husband and wife. I read the link but I did not get a clear answer from it.
Okay, I see where the misunderstanding is coming from now. I'll try to explain it again, so bear with me ..lol
Nikaah = Wedding - it's the actual wedding ceremony in Islam.
Aqd = Marriage contract - which takes place at the Nikaah.
Engagement = Promise of marriage.
Now, the engagement takes place before both of these (Nikaah & Aqd). So the engagement is just a promise of marriage. Neither is entitled to any rights, as they would have been if they were husband and wife. During the engagement they should act as they would with any Non-Mahram, so they shouldn't be alone together etc...
I think you've attended a Nikaah (the actual wedding ceremony) you didn't attend an engagement, because if it was an engagement they wouldn't be husband and wife at the end of the event. So at the Nikaah the marriage contract must have been drawn & the bride was given her Mahr because there's no other way they can be declared husband and wife at the end of it.
So if there's no marriage contract, then, according to Shariah, that marriage has not been fulfilled.
Do you understand now?