Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on appointing the mother as the walī (guardian) for a marriage while the paternal uncle is present?
✿ Answer:
A woman cannot act as a walī in nikāḥ — neither for herself nor for another woman.
➤ Therefore, the mother cannot be a walī for her daughter’s marriage.
➤ In the presence of male relatives, the right of guardianship belongs to the paternal uncle, according to the hierarchy of Islamic law.
✦ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه gave the following fatwa:
لَا تُزَوِّجُ الْمَرْأَةُ الْمَرْأَةَ، وَلَا تُزَوِّجُ الْمَرْأَةُ نَفْسَهَا، وَالزَّانِيَةُ هِيَ الَّتِي تُنْكِحُ نَفْسَهَا بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِ وَلِيِّهَا
Translation:
“No woman may marry off another woman, nor may she marry herself. A woman who marries herself without the permission of her walī is a fornicator.”
📚 Sunan al-Dāraqutnī: 3539 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ
✅ Summary:
➤ The mother cannot serve as a walī in the nikāḥ of her daughter.
➤ In the absence of the father, the next in line — such as the paternal uncle — is given the right of guardianship.
➤ The appointment of a woman as walī in marriage is invalid in Sharīʿah.
