Friday August 14th, 2015 marked the last day of KARAMAH’s Law and Leadership Program 2015. The LLSP Class heard from Abed Awad about the Islamic marriage contract, and particularly, how it is treated under U.S. law. Mr. Awad began his course by describing the distinctions between an Islamic marriage contract and a prenuptial agreement, a comparison which is frequently made. A prenuptial agreement functions in lieu of any inheritance or other community property, equitable distribution or alimony laws otherwise applicable to the couple, while “a marriage contract is a simple contract. It’s enforceable to the terms, but it’s not a waiver to the other rights…it’s not in lieu of your state rights, it’s a supplement to your state rights.” The sadaq is an obligation upon the husband that serves as a supplement, not a substitute, to other legal obligations between spouses. In addition to the sadaq amount, a Muslim wife under Islamic law has a right to alimony (although for a short duration) and if the husband dies before her, she has a right to inherit him. Mr. Awad walked students through a variety of cases to show students the different ways in which different states within the U.S. have interpreted the Islamic marriage contract and the sadaq. He described to students some of the challenges women face in trying to obtain their sadaq or the assets to which they’re entitled under U.S. law. Mr. Awad was extremely helpful to students, discussing questions they had about their own marriage contracts, as well as helping them understand their rights and responsibilities as Muslim women, protected both by their faith and by U.S. law. Although participants are sad to see the end of their classes, they enjoyed all of the lessons learned at LLSP!
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