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What is the ruling on a woman marrying without a guardian, and is that considered valid according to the Hanafi school of thought, and is the issue of 'adhl (preventing a woman from marrying) addressed in the Egyptian constitution?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of jurists are of the opinion that a woman's marriage without her guardian (wali) is invalid, and this is the most preponderant view, whereas Abu Hanifa permitted it. Based on this, a woman is not allowed to marry herself off. If a woman fears her guardian will prevent her marriage (adl), she can refer her case to the Sharia court to remove the harm and arrange her marriage to a suitable man. The extent to which the ruling of adl exists in Egyptian personal status laws is not known.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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