The Nikah of a Sayyid Woman to a Non-Equal

Question

Ghulam Husayn, a Gujjar (a pastoral and farming caste of North India), wishes to marry his son to the daughter of his brother-in-law (his sister’s husband), who is a Sayyid. His brother-in-law is also willing: “I will marry my daughter to the son of my brother-in-law (my wife’s brother).” The Kashmiri scholars have issued a fatwa that it was a very bad thing that a Gujjar wished to marry the daughter of a Sayyid, and they issued a fatwa of boycott (severing of ties) and of kufr.

Answer

This much is correct: a Gujjar is not an equal match (kuf’) for a Sayyid girl, and if a girl marries herself to a non-equal, that nikah is not valid. But if that non-equal has been blessed with knowledge, good character and nobility, and the girl’s heart also likes him, then according to the Sacred Law the nikah will be concluded and valid.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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