The ruling on marrying a woman through the agency of her maternal uncle when it is difficult to reach her father
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. This question came in tonight from America. The questioner says: A woman in America has a father in Somalia, and a Muslim there in America proposed to her, but the matter stopped at the guardian. Her father is difficult to reach, and she has an uncle in Kenya. The uncle sent a message to America appointing someone to be the woman's guardian by proxy. Is this form valid? If it is not valid, what should be done? Please give us a ruling. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah. Her uncle in Kenya can send a message appointing someone to marry her, and her father in Somalia cannot? How is this situation?
The questioner : Yes, perhaps because of the war.
The Shaykh : The state of war. Well, if it is difficult to reach the closest guardian, then the one after him marries her. If she has full brothers or brothers on the father's side, then her uncle is not valid to marry her. If she has no brothers, then her full uncle or uncle on the father's side marries her. In that case, if he sends a message appointing someone, there is no harm. The agent marries her with this message, provided the message is established that her uncle is the one who sent it, with witnesses and the confirmation of a trustworthy person.
The questioner : If it is possible.
The Shaykh : If it is not possible, neither this nor that, then the one who manages the affairs of the Muslims there marries her. Because the one who has no guardian, the ruler is her guardian, and the one who manages the affairs of the Muslims there is the ruler. Yes.
The questioner : If it is possible to reach her father, but with difficulty.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is possible to reach her father with severe difficulty, then his presence is like his absence. Yes.
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah. Her uncle in Kenya can send a message appointing someone to marry her, and her father in Somalia cannot? How is this situation?
The questioner : Yes, perhaps because of the war.
The Shaykh : The state of war. Well, if it is difficult to reach the closest guardian, then the one after him marries her. If she has full brothers or brothers on the father's side, then her uncle is not valid to marry her. If she has no brothers, then her full uncle or uncle on the father's side marries her. In that case, if he sends a message appointing someone, there is no harm. The agent marries her with this message, provided the message is established that her uncle is the one who sent it, with witnesses and the confirmation of a trustworthy person.
The questioner : If it is possible.
The Shaykh : If it is not possible, neither this nor that, then the one who manages the affairs of the Muslims there marries her. Because the one who has no guardian, the ruler is her guardian, and the one who manages the affairs of the Muslims there is the ruler. Yes.
The questioner : If it is possible to reach her father, but with difficulty.
The Shaykh : Yes, if it is possible to reach her father with severe difficulty, then his presence is like his absence. Yes.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1415هـ - 5 — binothaimeen.net (34:15)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.