Is the marriage contract considered valid if the Christian wife's father was not present at the time of the contract, with his approval, and the Imam officiated the contract in his capacity as guardian due to the wife's fear that her father might retract his approval if he later learned of her conversion to Islam?

The guardian (wali) is an essential pillar for the validity of marriage, whether for a Muslim woman or a Kitabiyyah (a woman from the People of the Book). If the marriage takes place without his presence or without a proxy acting on his behalf, then the marriage is void. It must be annulled, and one must separate from the wife until the contract is renewed with the presence of her guardian or his proxy, or until his consent is proven by the testimony of two just witnesses. Children in this case are attributed to the husband if he believed the marriage to be valid. It is permissible to marry a Jewish or Christian woman, provided she is chaste.