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Is it permissible for a young man to marry an orphaned Asian girl, with both parties merely uttering the word "acceptance" without recourse to courts or a marriage officiant, provided the girl's guardians consent, and would their marriage be valid according to the Sunnah of Allah and His Messenger?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Sharia-compliant marriage (Nikah) is conducted when a man proposes to a woman through her guardian (wali), and both agree. Then, a Muslim performs the marriage contract in the presence of two just witnesses. For the marriage to be valid, it must fulfill all its conditions. As for an agreement between a young man and a young woman without a contract that fulfills the conditions, it is forbidden (haram), even if the parents agree. It is not a condition for the validity of the marriage that it be conducted by a marriage officiant (ma'dhun) or in Sharia courts. Regarding marrying off an underage girl, it is not permissible to proceed with marrying her off before puberty according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, and the majority of scholars, unless there is a fear of corruption for her, in which case she may be married under conditions mentioned by later Maliki scholars.

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

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