Sania, Shoaib are now husband and wife (Third Lead)

HYDERABAD - Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik at a hotel here Monday after getting a copy of Shoaib’s passport from the city police.

“The nikah has been completed. Please pray for the couple,” Sania’s spokesperson Rucha Naik told media persons outside hotel Taj Krishna.

The simple and brief nikah ceremony, held between 12.30 p.m. and 1 p.m., was attended by about 70 close relatives and friends of the bride and bridegroom.

Sania, 23, and Shoaib, 28, signed the ‘nikahnama’ and said “qubool hai” (I accept) in the presence of a qazi and two witnesses to formally solemnize the marriage.

Qazi Najmuddin Hussain, who completed the nikah formalities, said that the “Mehr” (the gift given by the bridegroom to the bride at the time of marriage) was fixed at Rs.61 lakh in cash. Mehr, a prerequisite for a Muslim marriage, can be in the form of cash, gold or other valuables and it is aimed at providing some security to the wife in the event of divorce or widowhood.

With the signing of the nikahnama, Sania became the second wife of former Pakistani skipper, who divorced his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui last week.

Ayesha, a resident of this city, had filed a case against Shoaib after he rejected her demand to divorce her before marrying Sania. Shoaib had married Ayesha over phone in 2002 but then accused her of duping him by sending photographs of another girl and emotionally forcing him into the marriage.

Sania’s uncles Mohammed Shafi Osman and Mirza Fayaz Baig signed the nikahnama as the two witnesses.

“Ijab and qabool (offer and acceptance) was completed as per the Islamic law. Since Shoaib Malik was physically present at the nikah and the offer to marry Sania came from him, there was no need for any witnesses from his side,” the qazi told reporters.

The qazi performed the nikah after Shoaib produced a photo-copy of his passport, which he obtained from the city police. The qazi had reportedly refused to perform the ‘nikah’ Friday in the absence of Shoaib’s passport or its photo-copy, as they do not perform marriages of foreigners without passports and a no objection certificate from their respective governments.

Shoaib’s passport, seized last week in connection with a case filed by Ayesha, is still with the police. Additional Commissioner of Police N. Narasimha Reddy said it may take a week for Shoaib to get back his passport as some formalities with regard to closure of the case would have to be completed.

After the ‘nikah’, the guests offered ‘zuhar namaz’. It was followed by lunch, where they were treated to traditional delicacies, including the famous Hyderabadi biryani and desserts like “qubani ka meetha”.

Clad in red traditional bridal wear, which her mother wore on her wedding 25 years ago, Sania, accompanied by her father Imran Mirza, mother Naseema, younger sister Anam and a few close relatives, left her residence in Jubilee Hills amid drum beats and reached hotel Taj Deccan shortly after noon.

From there they went to the adjoining Taj Krishna, where Shoaib and his relatives are staying.

Shoaib, who divorced Ayesha last week, wore a black ’sherwani’. His mother Sultana Farooq, brother Adil Malik, sisters Shazia Imran and Sadaf Imran, brother-in-law Zafar Imran and some other close relatives attended the wedding.

Security was tight at the hotel and the media was not allowed inside.

Earlier, Naik told reporters outside Sania’s residence that there would be a ‘mehendi’ ceremony Tuesday. The ’sangeet’ would be held the next day while Sania’s family would hold the wedding reception April 15.

The high-profile marriage was surrounded by controversies ever since it was announced March 29.

It is learnt that the two families decided to solemnise the marriage Monday to avoid further controversies, especially in the light of a ‘fatwa’ issued Sunday by Islamic religious scholars against Sania and Shoaib living together before their wedding.

The Sunni Ulema Board, a group of religious scholars, had declared that the act of Sania and Shoaib living together was against Islamic Shariat. It asked Muslims not to attend such marriages where men and women come together in close proximity in violation of Islamic rules.

Sania’s media manager Sunday night clarified that Shoaib moved out of Sania’s house a few days ago.