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What is the basis for the permissibility of a woman marrying without a guardian (wali) according to Imam Abu Hanifa, and to what extent are the hadiths "Any woman who marries herself without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is void" and "There is no marriage without a guardian" authentic?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars stipulate the guardian (wali) for the validity of marriage, contrary to Abu Hanifa, who believes in the validity of a mature woman marrying herself. The origin of this disagreement lies in the differing views on the authenticity and implication of the evidence. The Hanafis argue that their Quranic evidence, such as the verses: "until she marries another husband," and "there is no blame upon you for what they do with themselves in an honorable manner," indicates the validity of a woman's right to manage her own marriage. In addition, they cite the hadith of the girl whose father married her against her will, where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to her: "Then marry whomever you wish." They also cited the action of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, when she married off her brother Abd al-Rahman's daughter in his absence. They consider the hadiths that stipulate the guardian to be weak and contradictory to what they have mentioned.

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

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