The Ruling on a Guardian Delaying the Marriage of the Woman Under His Guardianship

Question:
This is a questioner for the program who says: Your Eminence, the Shaykh! A father refused to marry off his daughter until she reached the age of forty, despite her having been proposed to by known young men since she was eighteen, and he did not marry her off until she reached approximately forty-three years of age. Did he marry her off after this age?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: This father who did this act is unjust to his daughter, and he is in danger of Allah’s punishment for it. If some suitable men proposed to her and he did not marry them to her, it is not permissible for a Muslim to withhold his daughter, his sister, or any other woman under his guardianship from marriage. Rather, he must hasten to marry her off if a suitable man proposes to her. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And because she is a trust, it is obligatory for him to fulfill the trust. This is a trust in his charge, and he must hasten to fulfill the trust by marrying her off to one of the suitable men who proposed to her, and to be swift in doing so. And because leaving her without marriage is one of the means of evil and corruption, and because it is an act of injustice.
Therefore, it is obligatory for the one who did this to repent to Allah and to be cautious of returning to such an act with others. It is obligatory for all guardians to fear Allah regarding the women under their guardianship and to marry them off whenever a suitable man comes, even if it is just a proposal to them. 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) proposed for his daughter Hafsah; he offered her to al-Siddiq and offered her to 'Uthman, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) proposed to her and married her. So the guardian should have sincerity and love for marrying off the women under his guardianship, because of the chastity this brings for them and the facilitation of finding someone to take responsibility for them, and perhaps Allah will provide them with some children.
So the conclusion is that detaining a woman and not marrying her off while suitable suitors are present is a great injustice that makes its perpetrator deserving of punishment and deserving of discipline from the one in authority. So my advice to all guardians is to fear Allah regarding the women under their guardianship and to hasten and be swift to marry off the woman under their guardianship if a suitable man proposes to her, whether she is a daughter, a sister, a sister’s daughter, or a cousin’s daughter. It is obligatory to hasten to marry her off when a suitable man comes and not to delay. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.