Question Summary:
Is my marriage valid?

Question Detail:

in my younger years (19 years old) my mother arranged for me a marriage that i wasn't desirous of, but i was too anxious to speak up about. my mom had always been very firm and sometimes violent whenever i expressed animosity towards what she planned, so i learned to just accept things as they were and to put trust in allah. when the nikah took place (i didn't know of any dowry that was determined, such was the degree of my lack of knowledge of affairs and lack of knowledge of fiqh at the time) i had to travel and as such it seemed like the nikah was simply ceremonial. my wife (technically, i suppose) spoke via telephone for a month or so before my mother got fed up with things (in a violent way) and forbade contact with her, and for two years now i have had no contact. Is this considered a valid marriage? does my internal animosity towards it invalidate the marriage? may i have the technicalities that would validate or invalidate this, as pertains to my scenario?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
You have enquired as to whether your marriage was valid or not. You have stated the marriage was ‘simply ceremonial’.
 
Kindly clarify the actual procedure of the marriage so that we may issue a ruling accordingly.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best 
Mu’ādh Chati
Student Darul Iftaa
Blackburn, England, UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.