What is the ruling on a woman, aged 26, who married without the knowledge of her family and without a guardian, while continuing to live with her family, and it was a marriage complete in its pillars based on a fatwa that permits marriage without a guardian in a specific madhhab, and the contract was documented by a lawyer in the presence of two witnesses, and a complete marital relationship occurred several times over three years?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The majority of scholars stipulate the guardian (wali) for the validity of the marriage, thus a woman cannot marry herself. This is the . However, if a woman marries without a guardian, following the Hanafi school of thought, her marriage is valid. It is advisable to document the marriage contract in courts to preserve rights.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/190569
Where this answer came from
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 190569
- 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.
- Read the full ruling
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