Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using NikahRegister.co.za (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

For registered users (mosque administrators, imams, and all system account holders), acceptance is required by ticking the acceptance checkbox at login or registration. Your continued use of the Service after any changes to these Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

These Terms apply to all users of the Service, including mosque administrators, officiating imams, verification users, and any other person accessing the Service.

2. Nature of This Service

NikahRegister.co.za is an online Islamic community marriage registration and verification database operated by SAMNET (South African Muslim Network) and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established), a community organisation based in South Africa.

The Service allows registered Masaajid to digitally record Nikah (Muslim marriage) ceremonies, generate verifiable reference numbers, and provide authorised parties with verification of registered marriages.

3. Islamic Community Record Only — Not Civil Registration

You expressly acknowledge and agree that:

• A Nikah registered on this system is not the same as a civil marriage registered with the Department of Home Affairs.
• This system does not replace, supplement, or interact with South African civil marriage registration under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961.
• SAMNET makes no representation that records on this system will be accepted by any court, government department, insurance company, pension fund, or other institution as proof of civil marriage.
• For full civil law recognition and protection (including inheritance, pension, and divorce rights), couples should also register their Nikah as a civil marriage with a registered marriage officer and the Department of Home Affairs.
• Following the Divorce Act amendment of 2024, Muslim marriages may have civil law recognition in certain circumstances, but this does not mean this register fulfils civil registration requirements.

3.1 Scope of This Register — Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah

This restriction is a religious requirement inherent to the nature and purpose of this register. It is not a comment on any party's civil law rights or status under South African law, which are governed exclusively by South African civil legislation and are unaffected by the scope of this register.

4. Who May Use This Service

4.1 Registered Mosque Administrators and Imams

Only mosque administrators and imams who have been issued system credentials by SAMNET may register Nikah records. Credentials are issued to Masaajid affiliated with a recognised Ulama body.

4.2 Verification Users

Any person with a registered account may submit Nikah verification requests. Account registration requires SAMNET approval.

4.3 Age Requirement

You must be 18 years of age or older to use this Service or to have your information registered on this Service. By using this Service, you confirm that you are 18 years of age or older.

4.4 Geographic Scope

The Service is designed for use by Masaajid and Muslim community members in South Africa. SAMNET makes no representation that the Service is appropriate or available for use in other jurisdictions.

5. User Obligations and Accuracy of Information

By using the Service, you agree that:

• All information you submit is accurate, complete, and truthful to the best of your knowledge.
• You will not submit information about any person without their knowledge and consent.
• You will notify SAMNET immediately if you become aware of any error, omission, or inaccuracy in a submitted record.
• You will not register a Nikah that did not actually take place.
• You will not falsify, alter, or misrepresent any information in the system.
• You will update your account information if it changes.

6. POPIA — Consent and Data Processing

By using this Service, you acknowledge that SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established) collects, processes, and stores personal information (as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 — "POPIA") about you and the parties whose details you submit.

6.1 What We Collect

• Full names, SA ID numbers, and passport numbers of brides, grooms, parents, witnesses, Walis/Wakeels, and Imams
• Contact details (phone, email) where provided
• Date, time, and location of Nikah ceremonies
• Mahr amounts (stored encrypted — admin access only)
• Uploaded Nikah certificate documents
• Login credentials (passwords stored as bcrypt hash — never in plain text)
• Verification request details (IP address, timestamp, reference number queried)

6.2 Why We Collect It

Personal information is collected for the following specific purposes:

• Recording Islamic marriages in the SAMNET community register
• Generating verifiable reference numbers for Nikah certificates
• Enabling authorised verification of marriage records
• Generating anonymised statistical reports on Muslim marriages in South Africa
• Communicating with registered mosque users about their accounts

6.3 Lawful Basis

Processing is conducted on the basis of legitimate interest (community record-keeping) and, where required, the express consent of data subjects. Mosque administrators confirm at the time of registration that they have obtained the consent of all parties whose information is submitted.

6.4 Data Retention

SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established) retains personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, in accordance with POPIA s.14. Records are not retained indefinitely. The following retention periods apply:

• Active Nikah records: For the duration of the marriage, plus 15 years following termination (divorce or death of a party)
• Terminated marriage records: 10 years from date of termination
• Incomplete draft records not activated within 90 days: Automatically deleted at 90 days
• Audit logs: 7 years
• Verification request logs: 3 years
• User account records: Duration of account plus 2 years after deactivation

On expiry of the applicable retention period, records will be archived for historical and research records; personal identifiers anonymised on request. Data subjects may also request early deletion or anonymisation — see Section 7.

7. Opt-Out and Data Subject Rights

Under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information held by SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established):

• Right of Access (s.23): Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Correction (s.24): Request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information.
• Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information. SAMNET will conduct a legitimate interest assessment. Where a compelling legitimate interest cannot be demonstrated, deletion will be completed within 30 days.
• Right to Anonymisation / Archiving: Where full deletion is not possible, request that your identifying information be removed and only anonymised statistical data retained, or that your record be archived and removed from active access.
• Right to Object (s.11(3)): Object to processing where SAMNET relies on legitimate interest as the lawful basis.
• Right to Complaint (s.74): Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at www.inforegulator.org.za.

To exercise any of these rights, submit a written request to our Information Officer:

8. Reservation of Rights and Discretion

SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established) reserves the right to accept or reject any application, submission, registration, or request made through this Service at its sole and absolute discretion, without being obliged to provide any reason or justification.

Without limiting the generality of the above, SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established) may:

• Decline to register any Nikah or process any submission at its discretion
• Revoke any registration, reference number, or record already issued, where SAMNET determines this is necessary or appropriate
• Revoke or suspend access to the Service for any user, mosque, or organisation at any time and without notice
• Refuse to process any verification request without providing a reason
• Remove, archive, or quarantine any record that SAMNET determines to be fraudulent, inaccurate, or in breach of these Terms

The exercise of these rights by SAMNET does not constitute a breach of these Terms or give rise to any claim against SAMNET. Use of this Service is a privilege, not a right, and SAMNET's decisions in the exercise of its discretion are final.

9. Limitation of Liability

SAMNET is not liable for:

• Any loss, damage, or harm arising from reliance on records in this system by you or any third party
• Errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in records entered by mosque administrators or imams
• Any third party's refusal to accept a NikahRegister record as proof of marriage or other fact
• Loss of data resulting from technical failures, hosting outages, or force majeure events
• Any consequential, indirect, or special damages arising from use of or inability to use the Service
• Any actions taken by you or others in reliance on information provided by this system
• Any loss arising from unauthorised access to your account due to your failure to maintain password security

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits SAMNET's liability for fraud or wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be excluded under South African law.

10. Use at Own Risk

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied.

SAMNET does not warrant that:

• The Service will be available at all times or will be uninterrupted
• The Service will be error-free or free of viruses or other harmful components
• The information on the Service is accurate, complete, or current
• Any errors in the Service will be corrected
• The Service will meet your specific requirements

You access and use the Service entirely at your own risk. You are responsible for implementing adequate precautions to protect your devices and data.

11. Authorised Use Only

The Service may only be used for the purpose of registering and verifying Nikah records in the SAMNET system. The following are expressly prohibited:

• Using the Service for any unlawful purpose
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service
• Scraping, harvesting, or automated downloading of any data from the Service
• Using the Service to register false, fraudulent, or non-existent marriages
• Sharing your login credentials with any other person
• Attempting to interfere with or disrupt the Service
• Using the Service to collect personal information for purposes other than Nikah registration
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, or disassembling any part of the Service

12. Intellectual Property

All content, design, code, logos, and materials on NikahRegister.co.za are the intellectual property of SAMNET or its licensors. No part of the Service may be:

• Reproduced, copied, or duplicated without SAMNET's prior written consent
• Distributed, published, or broadcast without SAMNET's prior written consent
• Used for commercial purposes without SAMNET's prior written consent
• Modified, adapted, or derived from without SAMNET's prior written consent

The Quranic verses and Hadith quoted on this site are Islamic public religious texts. Source attributions link to quran.com and sunnah.com respectively.

13. Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You agree to:

• Keep your password confidential and not share it with any person
• Use a strong password of at least 10 characters
• Notify SAMNET immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account
• Ensure you log out of your account at the end of each session
• Not access the Service from unsecured public computers or networks

SAMNET is not responsible for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain account security.

14. Service Availability

SAMNET does not guarantee that the Service will be available at any particular time. The Service may be suspended or terminated for maintenance, upgrades, or any other reason at SAMNET's discretion. SAMNET will endeavour to provide advance notice of planned downtime where possible.

In maintenance mode, non-administrator users will see a maintenance notice. This does not constitute a breach of these Terms.

15. Termination of Access

SAMNET reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if:

• You breach any provision of these Terms
• SAMNET reasonably suspects fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity
• Your mosque's affiliation with a recognised Ulama body is withdrawn
• SAMNET decides to discontinue the Service
• SAMNET exercises its discretion as described in Section 8

Termination of your access does not automatically result in deletion of records already submitted. Records are subject to the data retention schedule in Section 6.4 and the Privacy Policy.

16. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts.

Both parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court or High Court of South Africa having jurisdiction over the dispute, at SAMNET's election.

17. Changes to These Terms

SAMNET reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Where changes are material, we will provide at least 14 days' notice by:

• Displaying a notice on the login page
• Sending an email to registered users (if an email address is on record)

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. The current version and date of these Terms is displayed at the top of this page.

18. PAIA — Promotion of Access to Information Act

SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established), as a private body, is subject to the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). Any person wishing to formally request access to records held by SAMNET and/or the National Nikah Register NPO (when established) may do so in accordance with the procedure set out in our PAIA Manual.

Requests under PAIA must be submitted in writing to the Information Officer using the prescribed Form C (available from the Information Regulator's website). SAMNET will respond to PAIA requests within 30 days, subject to any permissible extensions under the Act.

19. Contact

For any queries, complaints, or requests relating to these Terms:

Privacy Policy PAIA Manual FAQ Contact SAMNET About the Register