CAIRO: The Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ali Gomaa has issued a fatwa stating that it is permissible for women to work as marriage officials, known as ma'zouns. According to the Mufti, the fatwa which was originally issued in 2004, is in accordance with the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, stating that women are allowed to conduct any form of financial, commercial or familial contract, including marriage. "[This] allows a woman to undertake her own or the marriage procedures of others, as long as she meets the conditions of justice and knowledge, he told Al-Masry Al-Youm. The Mufti pointed out that Prophet Mohamed had permitted the practice, as had his companion Ali Ibn Abi Taleb and wife Aisha. The Mufti's spokesman Sheikh Ibrahim Negm told Daily News Egypt that historically women in Islamic societies oversaw a variety of legal contracts, and by extension were within their capacity to deal with marriage contracts too. Negm admitted he was unsure how well the ruling would be received by the public, but noted that a fatwa that permitted women to be judges had so far encountered no problems. He added that the fatwa had the support of numerous high-ranking scholars, including Sheikh Abdel Moeti Bayoumi of Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Center who has spoken out in its support. "This is a purely legal ruling, Negm said. "I do not foresee any problems with it. But customs may not agree with it. Other scholars rejected the idea that a woman could operate as a ma'zoun.Former member of the Islamic Research Center Sheikh Saber Taalab believes that this is forbidden under Islamic law and that women could only oversee contracts dealing with inter-familial issues. "A woman may not marry [a couple] - she is not allowed to marry herself without the permission of her father or brother. This is the opinion of Hanafi. "The public will never accept this, he said.
