the other, the one who knows Arabic shall use it, and the other shall use his own language. If one of them does not know the language of the other, he needs to know that the phrase his companion has used is the phrase for 'inkah' (marriage), by having a trustworthy person who knows both languages inform him of that.

Section: As for the mute, if his sign is understood, his marriage is valid through it, because it is a meaning that cannot be derived except from his side, so it is valid through his sign, like his sale, divorce, and li'an (imprecation). If his sign is not understood, it is not valid from him, just as his other verbal dispositions are not valid. This is also because marriage is a contract between two persons, so each of them must understand what proceeds from the other. Even if the companion contracting with him understands it, it is not valid until the witnesses also understand it; for testimony is a condition, and it is not valid for what is not understood. Ahmad said: His guardian shall not marry him off—meaning if he is an adult—because muteness does not necessitate interdiction (hajr), so he is like the deaf.

Section: If the acceptance (qabul) precedes the offer (ijab), it is not valid, by a single narration, whether it is in the past tense, such as saying: "I have married your daughter," so he says: "I have married you to her," or in the imperative form, such as his saying: "Marry your daughter to me," so he says: "I have married you to her." Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al-Shafi'i said: It is valid in both cases, because both the offer and acceptance have occurred, so it is valid just as if the offer had preceded. Our view is that the acceptance is only for the offer, so whenever it is found before it, it is not an acceptance due to the absence of its meaning, so it is not valid, just as if it had preceded in the form of a question. Furthermore, if it were to follow the offer in the imperative form, it would not be valid; so if it precedes, it is even more so, like the interrogative form. Also, if he were to bring the prescribed formula first, saying: "I have accepted this marriage," and the guardian said: "I have married my daughter to you," it would not be valid, so that it is not valid if he uses something else is more appropriate.