Who Is the Guardian in Nikah: the Mother or the Paternal Grandmother?

Question

(1) Hinda sent Zayd, a person who is not a guardian, to look for a boy for a match for her minor daughter Jamila. Zayd went to another village, saw a young man, took a sum of money from him and on his own initiative concluded the nikah, although Zayd had not been given any authority at all to conclude the nikah. No one is pleased with this nikah — neither the girl's mother nor her paternal grandmother; the father has died. (2) Now, after some time, Jamila's paternal grandmother has agreed.

Answer

(1) Zayd is not a guardian; he has no authority for the nikah. The nikah he concluded was mawquf pending the permission of the girl's mother. If she rejected it, it became void. The sum that Zayd took is a bribe (rishwa); it is necessary to return it. (2) After the refusal of the girl's mother, the grandmother's consent counts for nothing. (3)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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