The word · Law & life
وَلِيّ
Wali (marriage guardian)
The male relative who contracts a woman's marriage on her behalf, usually her father.
Also written · Wali · Walee · Waliy · Vali · Veli · Wali nikah · Wali mujbir · Awliya · guardian · marriage guardian · bride's guardian · who gives the bride away
The meaning
What Wali (marriage guardian) means in Islam
Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold a marriage invalid without one, citing the report that there is no marriage without a wali. Hanafis hold that an adult woman may contract her own marriage, though her guardian may object to a plainly unsuitable match. Whether a father may marry off a virgin daughter without her word is the oldest dispute here: Hanafis say no, the other three allowed it under conditions, Ibn Taymiyyah rejected it. The Prophet annulled the marriage of a woman whose father had contracted it against her will.
Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- NikahThe Islamic marriage contract, formed by offer, acceptance, witnesses and a mahr.نِكاح
- MahrThe gift of money or property the groom owes the bride, which belongs to her alone.مَهْر
- TalaqDivorce pronounced by the husband, which Islamic law permits but treats as a last resort.طَلاق
- HanafiThe school of Abu Hanifah, the most widely followed, known for careful reasoning and analogy.المَذْهَبُ الحَنَفِيّ
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