Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 705
❖ Question:
My daughter was on her way to learn sewing when some boys stopped her, brought a nikāḥ form, and forced her to sign it. I, her father and guardian (walī), was completely unaware and did not give my consent.
Is such a marriage valid in Shariʿah without the guardian’s permission? Please explain with evidence from Qur’an and Ḥadīth.
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد!
If the question and circumstances are accurate, then:
▶ A marriage is not valid without the permission of the closest guardian (walī).
▶ According to clear proofs from the Qur’an and authentic aḥādīth, such a nikāḥ is invalid.
✦ Evidence from the Qur’an:
Imām al-Bukhārī included a chapter titled:
“There is no marriage except with a guardian.”
He cited the following verses:
- {فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ}
“Do not prevent them from remarrying their husbands…”
📖 [Al-Baqarah: 232]
- {وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ…}
📖 [Al-Baqarah: 221] - {وَأَنكِحُوا الْأَيَامَى مِنكُمْ…}
📖 [Al-Nūr: 32]
➡ All these verses address the guardians (awliyā’), proving that marriage is contracted by the guardian’s consent, not merely by the woman herself.
✦ Evidence from Ḥadīth:
① Narrated by Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه:
“There is no marriage except with a guardian.”
📚 (Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim – Authentic)
② Narrated by ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:
«أَيُّمَا امْرَأَةٍ نَكَحَتْ بِغَيْرِ إذْنِ وَلِيِّهَا فَنِكَاحُهَا بَاطِلٌ…»
“Any woman who marries without her guardian’s permission—her marriage is invalid, invalid, invalid…”
📚 (Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, Ḥākim – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ)
➡ If a woman is forced or married without the walī’s permission, the marriage is null and void according to Sharīʿah.
✅ Conclusion:
◈ A valid nikāḥ requires the permission of the closest guardian, especially the father if he is alive.
◈ In this case, no such permission was granted, and the marriage was conducted through force.
◈ Therefore, the marriage is invalid in Shariʿah.
◈ However, to proceed legally, this matter should be taken to a competent Sharīʿah court for formal annulment or validation.
والله أعلم بالصواب
