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یہ صفحہ اردو میں بھی موجود ہے۔ زبان کی تبدیلی کے لیے نیچے بٹن دبائیں۔
I met a boy online. We are both financially unstable and live in different countries. I want to establish this relationship in a halal manner through marriage. When I researched online marriage and the issue of a guardian, I found out that generally the guardian is the father, and if the father has passed away, is non-Muslim, is not present, or refuses the marriage without a valid reason, then guardianship transfers to other close male relatives, and finally, an Imam can be appointed as the guardian.
My father is alive. He sometimes treats me well, but if I go against his word, he threatens me. He does not pray, although he makes dua. He occasionally drinks alcohol, deceives, invests and loses money in the stock exchange (I am not sure if this falls under the ruling of gambling), prioritizes worldly matters over religion, does not want me to marry soon, is controlling, and is abusive financially and emotionally. He wants me to marry later according to my own will or his standards.
My grandfather or brother are not present; I only have uncles. One of them prays, but he is close to my father and fears him, and it is most likely that if I contact him, he will immediately inform my father and refuse to become my guardian because my father is alive.
My question is:
- Can I appoint an Imam as my guardian and get married without involving my family?
- According to Hanafi jurisprudence, there is mention of the permissibility of marriage without a guardian for an adult, sane woman, but what is the ruling regarding the validity of marriage according to other schools of thought (Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali)?
- If I get married according to Hanafi jurisprudence, for example, by appointing an Imam as the guardian, will my marriage be considered invalid or void according to other schools of thought?
I am trying to seek guidance on this issue from various websites and want my marriage to be correct and valid from a Shariah perspective.
Answer
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
Question Number 1: Can an adult, sane woman marry without a guardian?
The Hanafi School’s Position
According to Hanafi jurisprudence, an adult, sane, free woman can contract her own marriage, or appoint someone as her agent. The guardian’s permission is not a condition for validity, but rather a condition for perfection.
Evidence from the Holy Quran
Evidence Number 1 — Surah Al-Baqarah: 232
{فَلَا تَعْضُلُوْهُنَّ اَنْ يَّنْكِحْنَ اَزْوَاجَهُنَّ اِذَا تَرَاضَوْا بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوْفِ}
Translation: “So do not prevent them from marrying their husbands when they mutually agree upon it in a proper manner.”
The Hanafis deduce from this verse that Allah Almighty attributed the marriage to the women themselves, i.e., {أَن يَنكِحْنَ} — “that they marry.” If a woman had no authority over her marriage, this attribution would be meaningless. Moreover, forbidding guardians from preventing them is evidence that a woman has a right in her marriage.
Imam Al-Jassas (may Allah have mercy on him) proved the Hanafi school from this verse:
«دَلَّتْ هَذِهِ الآيَةُ عَلَى أَنَّ لِلْمَرْأَةِ فِي نِكَاحِهَا حَقًّا مَعْتَبَرًا» (Ahkam al-Quran by Al-Jassas, Vol. 1, p. 457)
Evidence Number 2 — Surah Al-Baqarah: 230
{فَاِنْ طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِمَآ اَنْ يَّتَرَاجَعَآ}
In this verse, the return (reconciliation) is attributed to both (the man and the woman), which indicates the woman’s competence to contract.
Evidence Number 3 — Surah An-Nisa: 19
{وَلَا تَعْضُلُوْهُنَّ}
“And do not prevent them.” This verse also forbids guardians from unjustly preventing women from marriage.
Evidence from the Blessed Hadiths (Regarding the Contracting of Marriage by an Adult Woman)
Hadith Number 1
«الثَّيِّبُ أَحَقُّ بِنَفْسِهَا مِنْ وَلِيِّهَا، وَالْبِكْرُ تُسْتَأْذَنُ فِي نَفْسِهَا وَإِذْنُهَا صُمَاتُهَا» (Sahih Muslim, Book of Marriage, Hadith: 1421)
Translation: “A previously married woman has more right over herself than her guardian, and a virgin should be asked for her consent, and her consent is her silence.”
Hanafi Deduction: The words “أَحَقُّ بِنَفْسِهَا” meaning “has more right over herself” explicitly indicate that an adult woman has more authority over her marriage than her guardian. If marriage without a guardian were not possible, this phrase would be meaningless.
Hadith Number 2
«لَا تُنْكَحُ الْأَيِّمُ حَتَّى تُسْتَأْمَرَ، وَلَا تُنْكَحُ الْبِكْرُ حَتَّى تُسْتَأْذَنَ» (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Marriage, Hadith: 5136; Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 1419)
Translation: “A widow should not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin should not be married until her permission is sought.”
Hanafi Deduction: This hadith makes the contracting of marriage contingent upon the woman’s consent, not the guardian’s consent. This is evidence that the woman’s consent is the fundamental condition, and the guardian’s permission is not a condition for validity.
Hadith Number 3 — The Incident of Khansa bint Khidam (may Allah be pleased with her)
«أَنَّ أَبَاهَا زَوَّجَهَا وَهِيَ ثَيِّبٌ فَكَرِهَتْ ذَلِكَ، فَأَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَرَدَّ نِكَاحَهَا» (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Translation: “Khansa bint Khidam was married off by her father without her consent, she came to the Prophet ﷺ and he annulled that marriage.”
Hanafi Deduction: The Prophet ﷺ annulled this marriage because the woman’s consent was not present — meaning primary importance was given to the woman’s consent, not merely the presence of a guardian.
Question Number 2: The Evidence of the Three Imams (Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali) and the Hanafis’ Response
Evidence of the Three Imams
The Three Imams deduce from these hadiths:
Evidence Number 1:
«لَا نِكَاحَ إِلَّا بِوَلِيٍّ» (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith: 2085; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith: 1101)
“There is no marriage except with a guardian.”
Evidence Number 2:
«أَيُّمَا امْرَأَةٍ نَكَحَتْ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِ وَلِيِّهَا فَنِكَاحُهَا بَاطِلٌ بَاطِلٌ بَاطِلٌ» (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith: 2083; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith: 1102)
“Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is void, void, void.”
The Hanafis’ Response to These Hadiths
The Hanafis do not reject these hadiths, but interpret them for the following reasons:
Reason Number 1 — Objection of the Muhaddithin: Scholars of Hadith have commented on the chain of narrators of these narrations. Regarding the narration «لَا نِكَاحَ إِلَّا بِوَلِيٍّ», Allama Al-Ayni (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that it is not of a grade that can be presented against the Quranic evidence of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him).
(Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 20, p. 111, Dar Ihya al-Turath)
Reason Number 2 — Interpreted as Negation of Perfection: Allama Ibn Humam (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that in «لَا نِكَاحَ إِلَّا بِوَلِيٍّ», the negation is of perfection, not of contracting — meaning marriage without a guardian is not perfect, but it is contracted.
(Fath al-Qadeer, Vol. 3, p. 257, Dar al-Fikr)
Reason Number 3 — Interpreted as Referring to a Minor or Non-Sane Woman: The Hanafis state that the hadith «أَيُّمَا امْرَأَةٍ نَكَحَتْ بِغَيْرِ وَلِيٍّ فَنِكَاحُهَا بَاطِلٌ» refers to a minor or non-sane woman, because their marriage truly cannot take place without a guardian.
Reason Number 4 — Contradiction with the Quranic Text: When these hadiths contradict the explicit text of the Quran {فَلَا تَعْضُلُوْهُنَّ أَن يَنكِحْنَ}, the Quran takes precedence. Imam Al-Jassas (may Allah have mercy on him) has explained this position in detail:
(Ahkam al-Quran by Al-Jassas, Vol. 1, p. 458)
Reason Number 5 — Practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them): It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali, Sayyiduna Ibn Mas’ud, and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that they considered the marriage of an adult, sane woman without a guardian permissible.
📎 For more details on this topic, please see our article: “Can marriage take place without a guardian?” — which has been previously published on our website. (Please search for “guardian” or “marriage without guardian” in the articles section of the website.)
Question Number 3: An Act Performed According to Other Schools of Thought — Will it be Contracted or Void?
This is a very important issue of the principles of jurisprudence.
Principle Rule
The established principle of the jurists is:
An act that is valid according to one recognized school of jurisprudence is not declared null and void by other schools; rather, they consider it a difference of ijtihad.
Evidence from the Authoritative Books of the Four Schools
① Hanafi Jurisprudence:
Allama Ibn Abidin al-Shami (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
«وَالْخِلَافُ فِي الْفُرُوعِ لَا يُنْكَرُ، وَكُلُّ مُجْتَهِدٍ مُصِيبٌ عِنْدَ بَعْضِهِمْ أَوْ مَعْذُورٌ عِنْدَ الْكُلِّ» (Radd al-Muhtar, Vol. 1, p. 75, Dar al-Fikr)
Translation: “Difference in subsidiary matters is not condemned, and every mujtahid is either correct according to some of them or excused according to all.”
② Shafi’i Jurisprudence:
Allama Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him) (Shafi’i) explicitly writes:
«مَنْ تَزَوَّجَ بِغَيْرِ وَلِيٍّ تَقْلِيدًا لِمَذْهَبِ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ لَا يُنْقَضُ نِكَاحُهُ» (Al-Fatawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra, Vol. 4, p. 254, Al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah)
Translation: “Whoever marries without a guardian in following the school of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him), his marriage will not be annulled.”
Meaning, a Shafi’i jurist also acknowledges that a marriage performed according to the Hanafi school is valid.
③ Maliki Jurisprudence:
Imam Al-Qarafi (may Allah have mercy on him) (Maliki) writes in his famous principle:
«إِنَّ الْخِلَافَ بَيْنَ الْمُجْتَهِدِينَ رَحْمَةٌ لِلْأُمَّةِ، وَمَنْ عَمِلَ بِمَذْهَبٍ مُعْتَبَرٍ صَحَّ عَمَلُهُ وَلَمْ يُنْقَضْ» (Al-Furuq by Al-Qarafi, Vol. 2, p. 108, Alam al-Kutub)
Translation: “Indeed, the difference among the mujtahids is a mercy for the Ummah, and whoever acts according to a recognized school, his act is correct and will not be annulled.”
④ Hanbali Jurisprudence:
Allama Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) (Hanbali) writes:
«وَمَنْ تَزَوَّجَ عَلَى وَجْهٍ اخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي صِحَّتِهِ وَفَسَادِهِ لَمْ يَجِبْ فَسْخُهُ بِقَوْلِ مَنْ يَرَى فَسَادَهُ» (Al-Mughni, Vol. 9, p. 345, Maktabat al-Qahirah)
Translation: “Whoever marries in a manner regarding which scholars differ concerning its validity and invalidity, it is not obligatory to annul it based on the opinion of those who consider it invalid.”
Conclusion and Important Note
Summary of the Three Questions
In answer to Question 1: According to Hanafi jurisprudence, the marriage of an adult, sane woman is contracted even without a guardian, although consideration of compatibility (kufu) is necessary.
In answer to Question 2: According to the Three Imams, a guardian is a condition for validity, but this difference of theirs is a matter of ijtihad.
In answer to Question 3: Other schools of thought do not declare a marriage performed according to the Hanafi school as absolutely invalid and null; rather, Shafi’i jurists themselves have explicitly stated that such a marriage will not be annulled.
Special Note
You should not worry about what the other Imams say, because all the jurist Imams are upon the truth — each one derived rulings from the Quran and Sunnah according to his ijtihad. This is why Allama Al-Shami (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote that every mujtahid is either correct or excused.
When you have decided to rely on the Hanafi school, then adhere to the fatwas and principles of this school. The real benefit of following a school (taqlid) is that you remain protected from confusion among different schools and live your religious life under an organized jurisprudential system.
To understand this important principle of why it is necessary to follow one school, please read the article published on our website.
And Allah Almighty knows best.
