What is the ruling on a marriage that was contracted through the father appointing his brother-in-law as his agent, while neither of them prays? And what is the solution after eight years and the presence of children?

Scholars have differed concerning the ruling on a father who does not pray out of laziness. The majority of scholars hold that he is a dissolute person (fasiq) who has not left the fold of Islam. The Hanbalis are of the view that he does not become an apostate unless the ruler (wali al-amr) requests him to repent. Some scholars, such as Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen, held that one does not become an apostate except by the absolute abandonment of prayer. As for one who prays sometimes, he does not become an apostate.

Based on this, if the father is not judged to be an apostate, then his marriage contract is valid, and the Muslim guardian's righteousness is not a condition for his guardianship in marrying off his ward. As for the father appointing the wife's maternal uncle, who is a dissolute non-prayer, as his agent for the marriage contract, then the agency is valid and so is the contract, unless his apostasy is proven, because he is acting as a deputy for the guardian and it is permissible for him to undertake the contract.