Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Pg. 707
I, Kho Bibi, daughter of Ahmad (Mistri caste), resident of Bahadman, Tehsil Pindi Bhattian, District Hafizabad, ask the following Sharʿi question:
My daughter, Jannat Bibi, was married by force, without my knowledge or consent, to Murad (son of Pir) of the Nadeera caste, resident of Notha, Hafizabad, approximately two months and twenty days ago.
She was abducted, forcibly thumb-printed on the nikāḥ papers, and detained for eight days. Neither I nor her father had any knowledge of this. She was recovered by our community and is now living with us again.
This so-called marriage was performed under threat of murder, and my daughter completely rejects it and refuses to live with that man.
Is such a forced marriage, without the guardian’s consent, valid in the Sharīʿah of Muhammad ﷺ?
We swear this account is true and seek a Sharʿi fatwa.
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد!
If the account is true and verified, then this marriage is Islamically null and void because a valid nikāḥ requires the permission of a proper Sharʿi guardian (walī).
{وَأَنكِحُوا الْأَيَامَىٰ مِنكُمْ...}
“Marry off those among you who are single...”
[Al-Nūr: 32] — Addressed to guardians.
{وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ...}
“Do not give your daughters in marriage to polytheists…”
[Al-Baqarah: 221]
{فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ...}
“Do not prevent them from marrying their husbands…”
[Al-Baqarah: 232]
▶ These verses confirm the authority and obligation of guardianship in marriage.
① Narrated by Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه:
“There is no nikāḥ without a walī.”
(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…”
(Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Tirmidhī – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ)
✔ This so-called nikāḥ was conducted without the walī’s approval and involved abduction, coercion, and threat.
✔ Such a nikāḥ is Islamically invalid and null.
✔ Jannat Bibi is not the legal wife of Murad under Sharīʿah.
✔ However, since thumbprints were forcibly placed on the nikāḥ form, legal annulment via a Sharīʿah court is necessary to avoid complications.
✔ If Murad forcibly consummated the marriage, mahr (dower) becomes obligatory.
This fatwa is issued based on the truthfulness of the question. Any falsehood is solely the responsibility of the questioner and those verifying it. The Mufti is not responsible for legal or court matters.
والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question:
I, Kho Bibi, daughter of Ahmad (Mistri caste), resident of Bahadman, Tehsil Pindi Bhattian, District Hafizabad, ask the following Sharʿi question:
My daughter, Jannat Bibi, was married by force, without my knowledge or consent, to Murad (son of Pir) of the Nadeera caste, resident of Notha, Hafizabad, approximately two months and twenty days ago.
She was abducted, forcibly thumb-printed on the nikāḥ papers, and detained for eight days. Neither I nor her father had any knowledge of this. She was recovered by our community and is now living with us again.
This so-called marriage was performed under threat of murder, and my daughter completely rejects it and refuses to live with that man.
Is such a forced marriage, without the guardian’s consent, valid in the Sharīʿah of Muhammad ﷺ?
We swear this account is true and seek a Sharʿi fatwa.
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد!
If the account is true and verified, then this marriage is Islamically null and void because a valid nikāḥ requires the permission of a proper Sharʿi guardian (walī).
✦ Proofs from the Qur’an:
{وَأَنكِحُوا الْأَيَامَىٰ مِنكُمْ...}“Marry off those among you who are single...”
[Al-Nūr: 32] — Addressed to guardians. {وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ...}“Do not give your daughters in marriage to polytheists…”
[Al-Baqarah: 221] {فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ...}“Do not prevent them from marrying their husbands…”
[Al-Baqarah: 232]▶ These verses confirm the authority and obligation of guardianship in marriage.
✦ Hadith Evidence:
① Narrated by Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه:
“There is no nikāḥ without a walī.”
(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…”
(Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Tirmidhī – Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ)
Conclusion:
✔ This so-called nikāḥ was conducted without the walī’s approval and involved abduction, coercion, and threat.
✔ Such a nikāḥ is Islamically invalid and null.
✔ Jannat Bibi is not the legal wife of Murad under Sharīʿah.
✔ However, since thumbprints were forcibly placed on the nikāḥ form, legal annulment via a Sharīʿah court is necessary to avoid complications.
✔ If Murad forcibly consummated the marriage, mahr (dower) becomes obligatory.
This fatwa is issued based on the truthfulness of the question. Any falsehood is solely the responsibility of the questioner and those verifying it. The Mufti is not responsible for legal or court matters.والله أعلم بالصواب
