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Do the Hanafis stipulate the consideration of lineage in marriage eligibility, such that a Qurayshi woman may only marry a Qurayshi man?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Hanafi school of thought considers lineage in terms of kafa'a (suitability/equality in marriage). Thus, the Quraysh are not kafa'a for other Arabs, while Arabs are k

afa'a for each other, and the Quraysh are kafa'a among themselves. They based this on the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) hadith: "The Quraysh are kafa'a for each other, and the Arabs are kafa'a for each other, tribe for tribe, and mawali (freed slaves) are kafa'a for each other, man for man." Therefore, a Qurayshi who is not a Hashemite is not kafa'a for a Hashemite, and Arabs are not kafa'a for the Quraysh. Kafa'a is considered necessary for the validity of the marriage, and it is a right of the guardians. If the most deserving guardian waives this right, the marriage is valid and is not annulled. So, if a woman marries someone who is not kafa'a and one of her guardians consents, that is permissible.

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

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