Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
If a woman has no close male relative, who acts as her walī (marriage guardian)?
In such a case, the qāḍī (Islamic judge) or a reliable local scholar will act as her walī.
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"أيما امرأة نكحت بغير إذن وليها فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فإن دخل بها فلها مهرها بما استحل من فرجها، فإن تشاجروا فالسلطان ولي من لا ولي له"
Translation:
"Any woman who marries without the permission of her walī, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid. If the man consummates the marriage with her, she is entitled to the mahr for the intercourse. If there is a dispute (between guardians), then the ruler is the walī for the one who has no walī."
Musnad Isḥāq: 499
Musnad Aḥmad: 6/165
Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 228
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2083
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1879
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1102
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 5394
Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 2083
Sunan al-Dāraqutnī: 3/221
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/105
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Ḥasan
✔ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir: Ḥasan
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd, Abū ʿAwānah, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Bayhaqī, Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Ḥākim: Ṣaḥīḥ
Maʿjam al-Shuyūkh: 234
Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/191
Al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 7/107
Al-Taḥqīq: 2/255
➤ If a woman has no male relative to act as her walī, then:
The qāḍī (Islamic judge), ruler, or a trustworthy religious scholar can act as her guardian in marriage.
➤ This is based on a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth reported by Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, which clearly states:
"The ruler is the walī for the one who has no walī."
❖ Question:
If a woman has no close male relative, who acts as her walī (marriage guardian)?
✿ Answer:
In such a case, the qāḍī (Islamic judge) or a reliable local scholar will act as her walī.
✦ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"أيما امرأة نكحت بغير إذن وليها فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فنكاحها باطل، فإن دخل بها فلها مهرها بما استحل من فرجها، فإن تشاجروا فالسلطان ولي من لا ولي له"
Translation:
"Any woman who marries without the permission of her walī, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid. If the man consummates the marriage with her, she is entitled to the mahr for the intercourse. If there is a dispute (between guardians), then the ruler is the walī for the one who has no walī."
Musnad Isḥāq: 499 Musnad Aḥmad: 6/165 Musnad al-Ḥumaydī: 228 Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2083 Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1879 Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1102 Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasāʾī: 5394 Musnad Abī Yaʿlā: 2083 Sunan al-Dāraqutnī: 3/221 Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 7/105✦ Authentication:
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Ḥasan
✔ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir: Ḥasan
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jārūd, Abū ʿAwānah, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Bayhaqī, Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Ḥākim: Ṣaḥīḥ
Maʿjam al-Shuyūkh: 234 Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/191 Al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 7/107 Al-Taḥqīq: 2/255
Summary:
➤ If a woman has no male relative to act as her walī, then:
The qāḍī (Islamic judge), ruler, or a trustworthy religious scholar can act as her guardian in marriage.
➤ This is based on a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth reported by Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها, which clearly states:
"The ruler is the walī for the one who has no walī."
