Marrying Without Parent’s Consent

Question

Can a mature girl (Baligh) marry without her parents’ permission?

Answer

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

Taking steps towards marriage without the permission of parents shouldn’t be done. Because such actions often involve various impermissible activities, such as communicating with a non-Mahram man, secret meetings, parental disapproval, shame for oneself and one’s family, and sometimes even lead to severe consequences like murder and abduction.

Furthermore, without the consent of a guardian (Wali), if a girl marries a non-Kuf man (i.e., someone who doesn’t meet the criteria for Nikkah, more details regarding this will be given further below), the marriage will not be valid. Therefore, it is advisable for happiness and well-being that the marriage be conducted with the consent of parents. However, if she marries a Kuf man (someone who meets the criteria of Nikkah), the marriage will be valid even without the parents consent.

It is stated in Majma Al-Anhar:

وروى الحسن عن الإمام وهو رواية عن أبي يوسف عدم جوازه أي عدم جواز نكاحها إذا زوجت نفسها بلا ولي في غير الكفء وبه أخذ كثير من مشايخنا؛ لأن كم من واقع لا يرفع وعليه فتوى قاضي خان وهذا أصح وأحوط والمختار للفتوى في زماننا

(Majma Al-Anhar, Book of Marriage, Chapter on Guardians and Sufficiency, Volume 1, Page 332, Dar Ihya Al-Turath Al-Arabi)

It is also stated in Fatawa Razvia: “In Islamic law, a non-Kuf refers to a condition related to lineage, religion, profession, or behavior that would bring disgrace or shame to the woman’s guardians if she were to marry such a person. This marriage will be valid if before the marriage the guardian (Wali), despite knowing the spouse to be Kuf (unsuitable for marriage), has given explicit permission to the mature (Baligh) woman to marry him. If any of these conditions are not met, the marriage is considered void.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Book of Marriage, Volume 11, Page 279, Barakat-e-Raza)

Answered by: Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated by: Shaheer Attari