The Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), said: In the days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), marriage was of four kinds. One kind was the same as what people do today: a man would send a proposal to another man for the girl under his care or for his daughter, and he would give her a dowry (mahr) and marry her. The second kind was that a husband would say to his wife, when she became pure from her menses: "Go to so-and-so and have relations with him." During that period the husband would keep away from her and not even touch her, until her pregnancy from that other man with whom she had temporarily consorted became evident; once her pregnancy became evident, her husband would have relations with her if he wished. They did this so that their child would be born noble and of good stock. This marriage was called "nikah al-istibda'" (the marriage of seeking offspring). The third kind of marriage was that a few men, fewer than ten, would frequent one woman and have relations with her. Then, when that woman became pregnant and gave birth, a few days after the delivery she would summon those men. On that occasion none of them could refuse, so they would all gather with her, and she would say: "O so-and-so, this child is yours." She would name whomever she wished, and the child would be considered his. That man could not dare to deny it. The fourth marriage was as follows: there were many women (who took money in exchange for fornication); such women kept flags set up at their doors, which were regarded as a sign, and whoever wished would go to them. When such a woman became pregnant and gave birth, those who used to visit her would gather and call someone skilled in physiognomy (qiyafah), and they would attribute the woman's child to whichever man it resembled in features and appearance, and the child would be called his son. No one would refuse this. Then, when Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent with the truth as a Messenger, he (peace and blessings be upon him) declared all the marriages of the Jahiliyyah void and kept only the marriage that is customary today.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13636
Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Any woman whom the guardian(s) did not give in marriage (and who married herself), her marriage is void.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13637
Ikrimah bin Khalid said: Some riders gathered on the road, and a previously married woman among them placed her matter in the hands of a man other than her guardian so that he would marry her off, and he married her off. When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) learned of this incident, he had both of them flogged and declared the marriage rejected.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13639
Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A woman is not to be married except with the permission of her guardian, or of a person of sound judgement from her family, or of the ruler (sultan).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13640
Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is void; there is no marriage except with the permission of a guardian.
This chain is sahih (authentic). It has also been narrated from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) through other chains, though reliance is on this one rather than those.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13641
It is narrated from al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Umar and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), and Shurayh and Masruq (may Allah have mercy on them both) said: There is no marriage without a guardian.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13642
Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Ali and Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "There is no marriage without a guardian."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13643
Through another chain it is narrated from al-Sha'bi that none of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was stricter regarding "no marriage without a guardian" than Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), to the extent that he would impose punishment in this matter.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13644
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): There is no marriage in the absence of a guardian and witnesses. In the narration of (Yazid bin) Harun it reads: There is no marriage without the permission of a guardian and without the presence of two upright witnesses.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13645
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:حسن لغيره دون قول (وَلاَ نِكَاحَ إِلاَّ بِشُهُودٍ)
Hadith Takhrij«حسن لغيره دون قول (وَلاَ نِكَاحَ إِلاَّ بِشُهُودٍ)»
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: There is no marriage without a guardian; whoever marries, or gives in marriage, without a guardian, his marriage is void.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he permitted the maternal uncle and the mother to give in marriage (acting as guardian).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13646
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he upheld the marriage of a woman whose mother had given her in marriage with her consent.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13648
It is narrated from Abu Qays al-Awdi that a woman named Salamah was given in marriage by her mother, and the matter was brought before Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). He asked: Has her husband not gone in to her? They said: Yes, he has. So he declared the marriage valid.
(b) It is narrated from Bahriyyah bint Hani bin Qabisah that she married herself to al-Qa'qa' bin Shawr and spent the night with her husband. Her father brought the matter before Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he asked: Has her husband gone in to her? He said: Yes. So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) declared her marriage valid. This report has come with differing chains and wordings, and it hinges on Abu Qays al-Awdi, whose uprightness is disputed, and Bahriyyah is unknown (majhulah). The condition of consummation would make the marriage valid only if this mawquf report were established. Consummation cannot make the unlawful lawful; the first report from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), which stipulates the guardian, is sahih (authentic), and it is the one to be relied upon.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13649
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "There is no marriage in the absence of a sensible guardian and two upright witnesses."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13650
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that they (the noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them) used to say: "The woman who gives herself in marriage is the adulteress."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13651
Qasim said: When a proposal was sent to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) for a woman of her family, she would act as a witness, and when it came to concluding the marriage contract, she would say to some of her family members: You conduct the marriage, for a woman cannot conclude a marriage contract.
Al-Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This report indicates "There is no marriage without a guardian."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13652
It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she married Hafsah bint Abd al-Rahman to al-Mundhir bin al-Zubayr while Abd al-Rahman was away in Syria. When Abd al-Rahman arrived, he said: Is this done to someone like me, and is the matter decided without me? So Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) spoke to al-Mundhir bin al-Zubayr, and al-Mundhir said: This matter is in the hands of Abd al-Rahman. Abd al-Rahman said: I will not reject a matter that you have decided. So Hafsah remained with al-Mundhir, and this was not a divorce. What is meant by this is that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) gave guidance for the marriage; then someone else conducted the marriage contract, so the marrying was attributed to her because of this permission and guidance. And Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13653
It is narrated from Abu al-Zinad (may Allah have mercy on him) that the jurists of the people of Madinah used to say that a woman may not conclude the marriage contract, neither her own nor that of another woman.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13654