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The question

Is a marriage valid if it was conducted without the family's knowledge and later documented in court as an 'urfi' (customary) marriage, especially given that the wife is divorced, 35 years old, and her family refused to let her marry?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The majority of jurists (Malikis, Shafi'is, and Hanbalis) hold the view that any marriage without a guardian (wali) is invalid, citing the Prophet's (peace be upon him) sayings: "Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is invalid," and "There is no marriage except with a guardian and two just witnesses." As for Abu Hanifa, he believes that a woman may marry herself off. If a woman insists on marrying and her guardian refuses, she should approach the court to prove the guardian's obstruction (adhl). The court will then either order the guardian to marry her off, or the court itself will undertake her marriage. A marriage contract solemnized by a lawyer in the absence of a guardian is not valid, unless the court rules the marriage to be valid based on Abu Hanifa's view, for a judge's ruling, when based on strong evidence, makes a disputed matter like an agreed-upon one, thereby rendering the marriage valid.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Where this answer came from
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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
80989
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy