muslim marriage a contract or not?

Social contract describes a broad class of theories that try to explain the ways in which people form states to maintainsocial order. The notion of the social contract implies that the people give up sovereignty to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. It can also be thought of as an agreement by the governed on a set of rules by which they are governed.

it is said that - mohamedan marriage is a contract.

but i feel that any marriage either hindu or mohamedan, is not a contract, as because, in a contract,- what is to be given and what will be getting is prefixed  by the contract without which a contact can not be made.

but in starting of a matrimonial relation, it is not prefixed by the parties.

actually there is a system of meher - which given after talaq, pointing out this system this is concluded.

though yopu find contractual aspects in both the marriages, there is a consideration for a muslim marriage the marriage is not solemnized

marriage is not solemnized?

certainly marriage solemnized according to their religious rites.

Muslim marriage is a contract, not a sacrament. Though it has importance as the only religiously sanctioned way for individuals to have legitimate s*xual relationships and to procreate. All ingredients of contract are followed in it.  marriage is a civil agreement, entered into by two individuals or those acting on their behalf.  And because it is a contract (‘aqd), it conveys legal rights and obligations to each spouse. the main purpose of the marriage contract to make intercourse lawful (halal) between a husband and wife and to legitimize any resulting offspring. The marriage contract also establishes further rights and duties for each spouse. Aside from the basic requirement of “mutual good treatment,” which is not legally defined, these rights and duties are differentiated by gender. They are also interdependent: a failure by one spouse to perform a specific duty may jeopardize his or her claim to a particular right.

The husband’s first duty is to pay an agreed-upon dower (mahr or sadaq) to his wife.  Mahr is mentioned in the Qur'an, verse 4:4. The Encyclopaedia of Islam's entry on mahr states: "According to a tradition in Bukhari, the mahr is an essential condition for the legality of the marriage: 'Every marriage without mahr is null and void'."^[5]

Also, a narration in Sunan Abu-Dawud (a lesser collection of Hadith, as it contains some narrations of weaker verifiability) suggests that the mahr must be given prior to consummation:

In addition to dower, the wife has a right to lodging, clothing, and support, as well as, in most cases, support for at least one servant to perform domestic chores and wait on her, as was common in pre-modern societies. If she has co-wives, she also has the right to an equal share of her husband’s time. In exchange for his support of his wife, jurists hold that a husband has the right to restrict her movements and to expect that she be always available for s*xual intimacy. A wife who refuses his advances or leaves the marital home without permission, or with permission but on her own behalf, loses her right to support as well as any claim to a portion of her husband’s time.

The stipulations in marriage contracts is the best way to protect women’s rights within marriage.

I am of the view that Mahomedan marriage is a xcontract for the purpose of legalising s*xual intercourse and the procreation of children and it is not a sacrament but a civil contract, and the consideration of the contract is mehr  gift to the bride.

i also know dt it is said by the nature and also by the interpretrs of the muslim law dt muslim marriage is a contract...but my question is dt is it so written specifically in "quoran" dt muslim mrg is  a"contract"?can any1 tell me?

no it is not in my knowledge. i never heard that quran decleared  a muslim marriage - a contract.

okk,thank u MR. Arup Gupta and all other who posted their views...thank u all..