❖ Marriage Without the Wali's Permission is Invalid
Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ ➊ Prophetic Declaration on the Role of a Wali
It is narrated from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ said:
"لَا نِكَاحَ إِلَّا بِوَلِيٍّ"
“There is no marriage except with a guardian.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1836 Abū Dāwūd: 2085 Al-Tirmidhī: 1101 Al-Dāramī: 2/137 Aḥmad: 4/394 Ibn Mājah: 1881 Ibn Ḥibbān: 1243 Al-Ḥākim: 2/170 Al-Bayhaqī: 7/107❖ ➋ Threefold Repetition of Invalidity Without Wali
Narrated from ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"أيما امرأة نكحت بغير إذن وليها، فنكاحها باطل، باطل، باطل"
“Any woman who marries without the permission of her wali, her marriage is invalid, invalid, invalid.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1835 Al-Tirmidhī: 1102 Aḥmad: 6/47 Ibn Mājah: 1879 Al-Dārimī, Al-Ḥākim, Al-Bayhaqī❖ ➌ A Woman Cannot Marry Herself
From Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"لا تُزَوِّج المرأةُ المرأةَ، ولا تُزَوِّج المرأةُ نفسَها، فإن الزانيةَ هي التي تُزَوِّج نفسَها."
“A woman should not marry another woman (as a wali), nor should she marry herself. The one who marries herself is a fornicator.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 1527 Ibn Mājah: 1882 Al-Bayhaqī: 7/110 Shaykh al-Albānī authenticated the ḥadīth except the final phrase regarding fornication.❖ Scholarly Consensus and the Role of the Wali
➤ The majority of scholars including Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and many others hold that:
“Marriage without a wali is invalid.”
Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/187 Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 3/20 Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/195 Sabil al-Salām: 3/1320 Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/30 Al-Mughnī: 9/340➤ Imām Ibn al-Mundhir رحمه الله said:
“No companion is known to have opposed this view.”
❖ Qur’anic Indications of Wali’s Authority
Sūrat al-Baqarah: 221"وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَتَّىٰ يُؤْمِنُوا"
“Do not give (your women) in marriage to polytheists...”
This verse addresses guardians, not the women themselves — proving the wali's role.
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 3/49❖ Statements of Major Scholars
- Shams al-Ḥaqq ʿAẓīmābādī رحمه الله:
“The correct view is that marriage without a wali is invalid.”
ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd: 2/191
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله:
Holds the same view
Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/241
❖ Misinterpreted Reports on Previously Married Women (Thayyib)
There are reports such as:
"الثيِّب أحقُّ بنفسها من وليِّها"
“A previously married woman has more right over herself than her guardian.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1421 Abū Dāwūd, Al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, Al-NasāʾīAnother weak report says:
"ليس للولي مع الثيِّب أمر"
“A guardian has no authority over a previously married woman.”
Ḍaʿīf — Refer: al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/156
Clarification: These reports do not contradict previous authentic narrations.They only mean that a previously married woman has more say, but still requires the wali to conduct the marriage.
❖ Rebuttals to Opposing Views
➤ Qur’anic Phraseology:
- Some point to verses like:
- "حَتَّى تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُ" (al-Baqarah: 230)
- "فَلَا تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ أَنْ يَنكِحْنَ أَزْوَاجَهُنَّ" (al-Baqarah: 232)
Response: These verses mention nikāḥ in association with the woman, but do not negate the guardian’s authority. The general rulings in Sunnah clarify the requirement of a wali.➤ Analogy with Business Transactions:
Some argue: Just as two parties can contract in business without external involvement, so too can a man and woman marry by mutual consent.
Response: Analogy (qiyās) cannot override explicit prophetic instructions. Marriage is a sacred act, not merely a contract of mutual interest.❖ Who Qualifies as a Wali?
- First: Father
- Then: Grandfather
- Then: Brother
- Then: Paternal uncle
(These are all ʿaṣabah—male blood relatives through the male line)
➤ If two equal-ranking guardians disagree, the closer in relationship is preferred.
➤ If they remain in dispute, or no wali is available, then the ḥākim (ruler or judge) acts as the wali.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Marriage without the wali’s permission is invalid, as affirmed by clear ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīths, the consensus of the majority, and no opposing view among the Companions.
✔ The strongest and most reliable opinion is the one held by the Jumhūr (majority of scholars), particularly Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Mālik, and Aḥmad, that:
"لَا نِكَاحَ إِلَّا بِوَلِيٍّ" — “There is no valid nikāḥ without a guardian.”
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
And Allāh knows best what is correct.
