The Right of a Righteous Woman to Accept or Refuse a Marriage ProposalThis fatwa is taken from the book “500 Questions and Answers for Women,” based on the verdicts of the scholars of the Ḥaramayn, translated by Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbdullāh Salīm.
❖ Question:
Is it permissible for a righteous woman to refuse a man who proposes to marry her, based on the reason that she is more knowledgeable in religion than he is? She fears that if she agrees to marry him, he would not accept her religious counsel since men are placed as guardians over women. Her intention is to marry someone who can further educate her in religious knowledge.
❖ Answer:
She has the right to refuse such a proposal. As for the issue of prohibition, it is not impermissible for her to marry such a man.
Allah ﷻ states in the Noble Qur'an:
﴿إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ﴾
[“Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”]
[Surah al-Ḥujurāt 49:13]
Allah did not say that the most noble of you is the one who is most knowledgeable, but rather the one who is most God-fearing.
This woman is not obligated to marry a specific individual. It is permissible for her to marry the mentioned man, but it is also permissible for her to decline, as she is more aware of what is in her best interest.
Allah is the One from Whom aid is sought.
(Maqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī رحمه الله)
