A Fatwa According to the Shafi‘i Position

Question

According to Imam al-Shafi‘i ﵀, a nikah is not concluded without a guardian (wali), and in our region this has long been the practice. The scholars who have graduated from Nadwa have forbidden such nikahs. According to Imam Abu Hanifa ﵀, however, it is concluded. But what of those girls who ran away and concluded their own nikah without a guardian — they even have children? What is the ruling concerning them according to Imam al-Shafi‘i ﵀? Can the nikah take place or not?

Answer

This much you yourself know: according to Hazrat Imam al-Shafi‘i ﵀, a nikah without a guardian is not valid. Beyond that, whatever you need to find out about the ruling on such a nikah and on the children of such a nikah should be asked of the Shafi‘i scholars themselves.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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