What is the ruling on a young man marrying an older woman without his parents' knowledge, and is that considered disobedience?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The default is that it is recommended to marry a virgin woman. However, marrying a non-virgin woman is permissible and may even be preferable in some cases. If the woman is religious and of good character, her being a widow or older in age does not prevent marrying her. The consent of the parents is not a condition for the validity of the marriage, but efforts should be made to convince them. If they are not convinced and prevent the marriage, it should be abandoned unless there is harm in doing so.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/143460
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 143460
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy