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Does the guardianship of a woman's guardian in marriage justify preventing her from marrying, and what can a woman do to prove such prevention if she cannot resort to the judiciary?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars stipulate the presence of a guardian (wali) for the marriage to be valid. They cite the verses: "And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe" and "Do not prevent them from marrying their [former] husbands." They also cite the Ahadith: "There is no marriage except with a guardian" and "A woman may not marry off another woman, nor may a woman marry herself off, for only a fornicator marries herself off." It is not permissible for a woman to marry herself off or to marry off another woman, because marriage is an important contract that requires deliberation and consultation, and a woman might be overcome by her emotions. However, if the guardian prevents his ward [from marrying] and rejects suitable suitors, she may refer her case to the court. The judge will then order the guardian to marry her off, and if the guardian refuses, the judge will marry her off. It is not permissible for her to marry herself off when the guardian is preventing her; because the condition of a guardian remains.

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

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