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Is marriage to a divorced adult woman without her family's knowledge, but with two witnesses, a dowry, and public declaration by a sheikh according to the Hanafi school of thought, considered a valid marriage?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The marriage of a woman without a guardian (wali) is invalid according to the majority of scholars, whether she is young or old, a virgin or previously married. However, if it is in adherence to the madhhab of Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), then it is valid. The more cautious approach is to renew the marriage contract with the consent of the woman's guardian.

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

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