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Is a girl's marriage considered valid if she was forced into it, knowing that she still wishes to marry someone else, and is it permissible for that person to marry her after her divorce?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The paternal uncle does not have the right to compel a mature girl to marry someone she dislikes. The imams are in agreement that Islamic law does not permit anyone other than the father and paternal grandfather to force a mature woman into marriage. If the uncle does so, he deserves punishment, and she cannot be married except to someone she approves of, by the consensus of Muslims. Scholars differ regarding the validity of such a marriage; some consider it void, while others make it contingent on the girl's approval. She has the right to refer the matter to a judge to annul the marriage. The questioner must sever his relationship with the non-mahram girl and should not encourage her to seek a divorce if she has approved the marriage. If her marriage is annulled, it is forbidden to explicitly propose to her during her 'iddah (waiting period), but it is permissible to hint at it.

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

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