The honorable Shaykh: A pious young man proposed to a girl, but the father refused on the grounds that the suitor is in his final stage of studies and he fears he will be assigned to a village far from them, leaving the girl alone in her home.
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The questioner : A pious young man proposed to a girl, but the father refused on the grounds that the suitor is in his final stage of studies, and he fears he will be assigned to a village far from them, leaving the girl alone in her home. Is this action of his correct? We ask for your guidance and direction. May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : If a man proposes to a woman and he is a person of religion and good character, then it is prescribed that he be accepted and she be married to him. The excuse given by the father of the proposed woman in the question is an excuse that does not prevent her marriage, and it is not permissible for her father, if she is desiring this suitor, to prevent her for the sake of this excuse, because it is not a Sharia excuse. He is sinful in preventing this suitor, because the guardian of the woman is a trustee who must act in what is in her interest.
As for the possibility that he will be assigned to a town where the girl will be alone, this can be averted by stipulating to the husband that he not settle her in a remote place where she is isolated. If this condition is stipulated to the husband and he commits to it, then his commitment is valid, and it is obligatory for him, meaning the husband, to fulfill it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 2139Sahih (Al-Albani).
Nevertheless, I see that this condition should not be stipulated, even if he is afraid of it, because when a woman marries, the people closest to her are her husband. If the relationship is good, he will do everything that is in her interest, comfort, and happiness.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : If a man proposes to a woman and he is a person of religion and good character, then it is prescribed that he be accepted and she be married to him. The excuse given by the father of the proposed woman in the question is an excuse that does not prevent her marriage, and it is not permissible for her father, if she is desiring this suitor, to prevent her for the sake of this excuse, because it is not a Sharia excuse. He is sinful in preventing this suitor, because the guardian of the woman is a trustee who must act in what is in her interest.
As for the possibility that he will be assigned to a town where the girl will be alone, this can be averted by stipulating to the husband that he not settle her in a remote place where she is isolated. If this condition is stipulated to the husband and he commits to it, then his commitment is valid, and it is obligatory for him, meaning the husband, to fulfill it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The condition worthier to be fulfilled by you is the one by which you made the private parts (of your wife) lawful (for you).
إن حق الشروط أن توفوا به ما استحللتم به الفروجNevertheless, I see that this condition should not be stipulated, even if he is afraid of it, because when a woman marries, the people closest to her are her husband. If the relationship is good, he will do everything that is in her interest, comfort, and happiness.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.