The ruling on a guardian marrying his ward to a righteous man who is of lower lineage than she is

Question:
I am a young man and the guardian of a girl—may Allah make her righteous. My problem is that this girl is my sister, but a righteous young man has proposed to marry her. He memorizes the Qur'an, and I know him to be of good character. She wants this young man; in fact, she told me that she loves him for the sake of Allah. However, this young man is from a family of lower lineage than ours. What should I do? My sister says she will not marry anyone else, and her cousins are threatening, saying, "Do not marry her off." What should I do? What is the way? Should I marry her to this righteous young man and stand up to her cousins?

Answer:
It is obligatory for the guardians to look for the best match for their wards in terms of their religion and worldly affairs, even if the man is not from their tribe. In fact, they must look for the best match, even if he is from any tribe, provided his religion is sound and his conduct is upright. If they do not agree on this and find someone suitable for her, she should strive to agree with them if he is also upright and there is no harm in him. If she concedes some of her preference out of consideration for her relatives and guardians, to close the door to evil and eliminate the causes of division and disagreement, then her concession of some of her desire is acceptable, as long as the man she is conceding to is not problematic in his religion. Even if he is not what she personally desired, if he is good in himself and righteous in his religion, and is from her tribe or a tribe her guardians approve of, that is better than conflict and discord.
If the situation becomes severe and she does not concede, and they do not concede, the matter is referred to the court. In the court, there is sufficiency—may Allah will it—to look into the matter. With them is the pure Shari'ah, which is sufficient in every matter. Glory to the One who revealed it. But if the guardians concede and seek for her the best match, and abandon their bias for a specific person, even if he is a close cousin, it is not necessary that it be her close cousin, nor is it necessary that he be from her tribe. All Arabs are suitable matches for one another, and people of religion are suitable matches, even if they are not Arabs. If they marry her to a freed slave, or a freed man from among the freed, or a non-Arab from among the non-Arabs, there is no harm. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Al-Hujurat: 13].
It is not a condition that a Qahtani woman only takes a Qahtani man, or a Saba'i woman only takes a Saba'i man, or a Hashimi woman only takes a Hashimi man. This is not a requirement. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married Zaynab bint Jahsh, whose mother was the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) aunt from Banu Hashim, to Zayd ibn Harithah, a freed slave. He married Fatimah bint Qays, a Qurayshi woman from Quraysh, to Usamah ibn Zayd, his son, who was also a freed slave. And Bilal married a woman from Banu Zuhrah of Quraysh, and he was a freed slave from Abyssinia.
The point is that these matters have deceived many people among the Arabs, and they preferred them over the truth and guidance; so they erred in that. It is obligatory for the guardians to focus on the religious ruling and to strive against evil in this matter. If they are overcome and fear evil between them, they should seek for her someone suitable, even from another tribe. They must not force her to accept something she does not like. It is not necessary that it be her cousin. It is not permissible to force her to marry her cousin ever, nor her maternal cousin. They should seek for her from the other tribes and other people among the Arabs. If they do not approve of marrying her to a non-Arab, they should seek for her from the Arabs. And if they marry her to a non-Arab, a non-Arab, a freed slave, or someone of religion and piety, there is no harm, and praise be to Allah.
The righteous ones of this Ummah preceded them in this, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions preceded them to this. The matter in this is broad. Allah says: : [Al-Hujurat: 13], and then He said after that: [Al-Hujurat: 13]. He did not say: "The most noble of you before Allah are the Banu Hashim, or Quraysh, or Banu Tamim, or Banu So-and-so." No, [Al-Hujurat: 13] "The most pious of you." Even if he is a non-Arab, even if he is a freed slave whom so-and-so or so-and-so freed, he is the most noble before Allah. And even if the one who is not pious is a Qurayshi Hashimi, he has no value before Allah. This is Abu Lahab, a Qurayshi Hashimi from the people of the Fire, and Abu Talib likewise, and Abu Jahl likewise. They were all Qurayshis, and yet they ended up in the Fire because of their vile deeds.
Another command: The bias of a tribe for so-and-so or so-and-so harms their daughter and harms their ward. This is injustice and is not permissible for them. In fact, if the daughter dislikes it, they must not restrict her or prevent her. Instead of her cousin, there are many other Arabs, and many non-Arabs. If a suitable match proposes to her, even if he is not from their tribe, even if he is not from their cousins, they should marry her. There are many Arabs. If they refuse to marry her to a freed slave or a slave from among them, they should marry her to an Arab. There are many Arabs. They should seek for her the good brother. If a good man in himself and in his religion proposes to her, even if he is far from them, let them marry her, and praise be to Allah. They must not force her to accept someone she does not like, such as a cousin, a maternal cousin, or an old man she does not like, while she is young.
It is obligatory that her matter be considered and her desire be respected, not in the case of corrupt men, but in the case of righteous men. As for forcing her because of the desire of her guardian, because this guardian is her relative and is taking his daughter or his sister, forcing her to marry her relative's father, or her relative's sister, or her husband's brother... this is wrong, this is injustice. Or forcing her to marry an old man because he is marrying his daughter to him, or marrying his daughter to him in exchange (shigar), "Marry me, and I will marry you," forcing his daughter so that the one who marries her marries his daughter or his sister. This is also injustice. The Prophet forbade shigar and warned against shigar (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible to marry in shigar, saying: "Give me your daughter, and I will give you my daughter," or "Give me your sister, and I will give you my sister," or "Give me your son, and you give me my son." This is wrong, this is not permissible, and it is not lawful.
It is obligatory for the believers to distance themselves from this thing, and to marry off the girls without forcing them. Even if it is your daughter, do not force her. Marry her to someone you approve of from the righteous and good men. You do not have the right to force her if she refuses; do not marry her off until someone you approve of from among the Muslims comes to her. Even if she sits until she grows old, that does not harm you, as long as you did not force her, you are safe. But if you force her and harm her, it is never permissible for you. The need is hers.