A man proposed to a woman who has no guardian (wali) except some of her brothers, some of whom pray and some do not, and he requested to marry her but they refused. So, can he marry her without a guardian?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : ... He says a man proposed to a woman who has no existing guardian.
The Shaykh : A man proposed?
The questioner : A woman.
The Shaykh : A woman.
The questioner : She has no existing guardian except brothers of hers, some of whom pray and some do not, and the man requested to marry the woman but they refused. So, is the marriage contract valid without their consent?
The Shaykh : And where is this group living? Are they living on Mars, or where are they living in this world that we live in, or where in Nigeria, Eritrea... I imagine this situation occurs in lands of disbelief where there is no Shari'ah judiciary first. And if there is no Shari'ah judiciary, then there are no scholars. And if we assume there are no scholars, then there are not even students of knowledge. We imagine these scenarios in a country that is originally Islamic. I think we are imagining fiction, because there must be either students of knowledge, or scholars, or judges, or a state that rules by Islam. So how did this strange, odd scenario come about? If... there is only a group of friends, some righteous and some wicked, and this woman has no guardian and she wants to get married.
The questioner : ... they pray... they marry her
The Shaykh : She raises the matter to the Shari'ah court.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no Shari'ah court, meaning there are no scholars? There are no shaykhs?
The questioner : ... in Abyssinia this... I don't know, they have a disbelieving government there.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Eritrea is attached to Abyssinia... Abyssinia occupied it.
The Shaykh : It is fine, my brother.
The questioner : ... Is the president a disbeliever?
The Shaykh : What do we need the president for? There are no Muslim scholars, there are no shaykhs. I do not imagine that in lands of disbelief today there are some Islamic groups that are united and conclude Shari'ah contracts for some women there. There is no Muslim ruler, no Shari'ah court, and nothing else. So I do not imagine that, even if the ruling in Abyssinia is by a disbeliever, I imagine the existence of Muslims there, even if it is only some scholars, yes?
The questioner : ... the judiciary exists there.
The Shaykh : This is what I am saying, so I imagine the question does not represent the actual reality. Therefore, I cannot answer that this woman marries whoever she wants, because the original ruling is his (peace and blessings be upon him) sayingSunan al-Bayhaqi 10:1088 and his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1102Hasan (Darussalam). If this woman is sincere and truthful that she wants to marry to protect her chastity, she should try to contact someone who takes charge of her affairs after her brothers, as you say, refused to marry her. This is all I have as an answer to the question. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon Muhammad, the unlettered Prophet, and upon his family and his companions.
The Shaykh : A man proposed?
The questioner : A woman.
The Shaykh : A woman.
The questioner : She has no existing guardian except brothers of hers, some of whom pray and some do not, and the man requested to marry the woman but they refused. So, is the marriage contract valid without their consent?
The Shaykh : And where is this group living? Are they living on Mars, or where are they living in this world that we live in, or where in Nigeria, Eritrea... I imagine this situation occurs in lands of disbelief where there is no Shari'ah judiciary first. And if there is no Shari'ah judiciary, then there are no scholars. And if we assume there are no scholars, then there are not even students of knowledge. We imagine these scenarios in a country that is originally Islamic. I think we are imagining fiction, because there must be either students of knowledge, or scholars, or judges, or a state that rules by Islam. So how did this strange, odd scenario come about? If... there is only a group of friends, some righteous and some wicked, and this woman has no guardian and she wants to get married.
The questioner : ... they pray... they marry her
The Shaykh : She raises the matter to the Shari'ah court.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no Shari'ah court, meaning there are no scholars? There are no shaykhs?
The questioner : ... in Abyssinia this... I don't know, they have a disbelieving government there.
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Eritrea is attached to Abyssinia... Abyssinia occupied it.
The Shaykh : It is fine, my brother.
The questioner : ... Is the president a disbeliever?
The Shaykh : What do we need the president for? There are no Muslim scholars, there are no shaykhs. I do not imagine that in lands of disbelief today there are some Islamic groups that are united and conclude Shari'ah contracts for some women there. There is no Muslim ruler, no Shari'ah court, and nothing else. So I do not imagine that, even if the ruling in Abyssinia is by a disbeliever, I imagine the existence of Muslims there, even if it is only some scholars, yes?
The questioner : ... the judiciary exists there.
The Shaykh : This is what I am saying, so I imagine the question does not represent the actual reality. Therefore, I cannot answer that this woman marries whoever she wants, because the original ruling is his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying