Is the marriage contract of a girl whose maternal uncle married her valid Islamically, knowing that her father refused to attend and the law permitted that?
The preponderant opinion is that a guardian (wali) is a condition for the validity of marriage. A woman's guardians are her agnatic relatives (asabah) from her father's side. Therefore, it is not permissible for a woman to marry herself, and a maternal uncle (khal) is not a valid guardian for her. However, if the marriage has taken place, cohabitation (dukhool) has occurred, and conception (pregnancy) has resulted, then the marriage is upheld, out of consideration for the opinion of scholars who validate such a marriage, and to avert the harms that would result from its annulment. Al-Shatibi said: "So, a marriage concerning which there is a difference of opinion may have the difference taken into consideration, such that no separation occurs if it is discovered after cohabitation; this is in consideration of the matters associated with cohabitation that tip the scales towards validation. And all of this is a consideration of what the ruling of nullification and annulment leads to, from its resulting in a harm that is equal to or greater than the harm of what the prohibition necessitated."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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