Claim: Maryam Nawaz’s husband, Captain (retd) Safdar Awan, said that sexual relations are permissible in Islam without a nikkah.
Fact: The clip is edited and misrepresents Captain (retd) Safdar’s remarks. Complete footage of his press conference makes it apparent that Awan was referring to Imran Khan’s supposed views on the matter rather than expressing his opinion.
Following Maryam Nawaz’s recent interaction with President of the UAE, when she shook hands with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, social media users began sharing a video of Nawaz’s husband, Captain (retd) Safdar, claiming that he said, “Sexual relations are permissible without nikkah.”
X user @ShahzadGill202 shared a video (archive) of Awan, writing:
“پی ٹی آئی والے ہاتھ ملانے پر شور مچا رہے تھے، اگلے نے ہمبستری کی اجازت بھی دے رکھی ہے..🤣”
[Translated from Urdu: PTI members were making noise over shaking hands, while the other party has even allowed sexual intercourse.. 🤣]
In the clip, Awan says, “Ham-bistri ke liye nikkah ka hona zaroori nahi hai. Yeh bohat bara fatwa de raha hoon. Koi aalm e deen mujh se munazra karay mein sabit karoon.” [Nikkah is not necessary for sexual relations. I am giving a very significant ruling. Any Islamic scholar can debate me, and I will prove it.]
Similarly, Facebook user Ghulam Safeer shared Captain (retd) Safdar’s clip (archive) alongside images of Maryam Nawaz shaking hands with UAE’s President, with the text:
“جب شوہر نے اجازت دے رکھی ہے تو پھر زمانے کو کیا تکلیف ہے؟ 😂”
[Translated from Urdu: When the husband has given permission, why is the world bothered? 😂]
Mohammad Safdar Awan
Retired Captain Mohammad Safdar Awan hails from the Mansehra district. He joined the Pakistan Army after completing his early education. In 1992, he was appointed as the military aide to Nawaz Sharif while still a young captain, during Sharif’s first tenure as the country’s prime minister. He married Maryam Nawaz later that year.
After becoming the first son-in-law, Mohammad Safdar retired from the army and joined the civil services. During this period, he served as the assistant commissioner of Lahore’s Model Town.
In 2007, Safdar transitioned to politics. The following year, when PML-N stalwart Chaudhry Nisar vacated the NA-52 (Rawalpindi-III) seat, the party fielded Safdar in the by-election, where he emerged victorious. In 2011, he was appointed head of the PML-N’s youth wing. In the 2013 general elections, Awan won the NA-21 seat as a PML-N candidate, the report added.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes of the viral video and found an extended version of the clip shared on Facebook by a Seraiki news channel Rohi as early as January 2023. The video was captioned:
عمران خان کے نزدیک نکاح کی کوئی اہمیت نہیں!! کیپٹن صفدر نے بہت بڑا فتویٰ دے دیا۔۔!! کیا ٹیریان کی ماں سے عمران خان کا نکاح ہوا تھا؟؟
[Translated from Urdu: Imran Khan does not consider Nikkah to be important! Captain Safdar has issued a significant ruling…!! Was Imran Khan married to Tyrian’s mother?]
At 0:32, Awan says, “Imran Khan ki nazariya zaroorat mein ham-bistri ke liye nikkah ka hona zaroori nahi hai. Yeh bohat bara fatwa de raha hoon. Koi aalm e deen mujh se munazra karay mein saabit karun.” [According to Imran Khan’s situational beliefs, nikkah is not necessary for sexual relations. I am giving a very significant ruling. Any Islamic scholar can debate me, and I will prove it.]
The viral clip omits the part where Awan says, “Imran Khan ki nazariya zaroorat mein” [According to Imran Khan’s situational beliefs…] to make it seem as though Awan is expressing his own views on sexual relations without nikkah.
However, as the video continues, it becomes apparent that he was attributing these views to the jailed former prime minister.
Awan further says, “Kya woh jo beti ro rahi hai uski maa se nikkah hua tha ya jo raat ko uske parwanay uth’tay social media par, haya ati hai yaar. Riyasat e Madinah mein logon ki aankhein jhuki hui thi. Farishtay unko salam kartay thay, yeh Riyasat e Madinah thi.” [Was there a nikkah with the mother of the daughter who is crying, or (what) about those whose private matters surface on social media at night—it’s shameful, man. In the State of Madinah, people’s eyes were downcast with modesty. Angels would greet them; that was the State of Madinah.]
We reviewed footage of the same press conference shared by Naya Daur and found that Awan’s speech followed the same course as it did in the footage by Rohi.
Virality
The clip was shared widely across Facebook including here, here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also shared here, here, here, and here on Threads.
On X, it was shared here, here, and here. Archived here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The claim that Captain (retd) Safdar said sexual relations without nikkah are permissible is false. Complete footage of his press conference from 2023 revealed that he was attributing these views to PTI’s Chairman Imran Khan. He was not sharing his own opinion.
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Background image in cover photo: Business Recorder
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