To whom does the guardianship of a woman transfer after the death of her father?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. Shaykh, to whom does the guardianship of a woman transfer after the death of her father?
The Shaykh : Do you mean in the context of marriage?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. The person with the strongest right to give her in marriage is the father, then the paternal grandfather, however far up the lineage he may be. If she has a paternal grandfather, he has the strongest right. If she has neither a father nor a paternal grandfather, the guardianship transfers to her sons, if she has any. If not, it transfers to her full brothers, then her paternal half-brothers, then the sons of her full brothers, then the sons of her paternal half-brothers, then her full paternal uncles, then her paternal half-uncles, then the sons of her full paternal uncles, then the sons of her paternal half-uncles. If no residuary male heir (asabah) is found for her, or if her residuary male heirs are in a distant location where they cannot be contacted, or if her residuary male heirs refuse to marry her to a suitable husband, then the judge, meaning the judge of the court, [takes charge].
The questioner : Which of the full brothers takes on this responsibility?The Shaykh : All of them have the right of guardianship, but it is a matter of proper conduct that they appoint the eldest among them to take on this responsibility. Yes, that is correct.
The Shaykh : Do you mean in the context of marriage?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. The person with the strongest right to give her in marriage is the father, then the paternal grandfather, however far up the lineage he may be. If she has a paternal grandfather, he has the strongest right. If she has neither a father nor a paternal grandfather, the guardianship transfers to her sons, if she has any. If not, it transfers to her full brothers, then her paternal half-brothers, then the sons of her full brothers, then the sons of her paternal half-brothers, then her full paternal uncles, then her paternal half-uncles, then the sons of her full paternal uncles, then the sons of her paternal half-uncles. If no residuary male heir (asabah) is found for her, or if her residuary male heirs are in a distant location where they cannot be contacted, or if her residuary male heirs refuse to marry her to a suitable husband, then the judge, meaning the judge of the court, [takes charge].
The questioner : Which of the full brothers takes on this responsibility?The Shaykh : All of them have the right of guardianship, but it is a matter of proper conduct that they appoint the eldest among them to take on this responsibility. Yes, that is correct.