May a guardian force a woman into marriage?
2026-09-20
F23 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The whole source answer forbids coercion and distinguishes how permission is obtained. The original question also asks about validity, but the displayed answer does not separately adjudicate an existing marriage’s validity; the archive does not add such a verdict.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
سماحة الشيخ هذه سائلة صفية من سوريا -دمشق- تقول: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته، سؤالي يا سماحة الشيخ: ما حكم إجبار الفتاة على الزواج من رجل لا تريده أبدا ولا يناسبها، هل هو زواج صحيح؟ أم باطل في الشريعة الإسلامية؟
الجواب
لا يجوز جبر الفتاة على الزواج، النبي ﷺ قال: لا تنكح الأيم حتى تستأمر، ولا تنكح البكر حتى تستأذن، قالوا: يا رسول الله إنها تستحي، قال: إذنها سكوتها .
فليس لأبيها ولا غيره إجبارها، بل الواجب أخذ إذنها: إن كانت بكرا فبسكوتها، وإن كانت ثيبا فبإذنها الصريح، أما أن تجبر لا تجبر على من لا تريد لا بكرا ولا ثيبا، ليس لأبيها ولا لأوليائها إجبارها؛ لأن الرسول نهى عن هذا عليه الصلاة والسلام. نعم.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
Safiyyah from Damascus, Syria, asks: Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Honoured Shaykh, what is the ruling on forcing a young woman to marry a man she does not want at all and who is unsuitable for her? Is such a marriage valid or invalid under Islamic law?
Answer
A young woman may not be forced into marriage. The Prophet ﷺ said, “A previously married woman must not be married until her decision is sought, and a virgin must not be married until her permission is sought.” They said, “Messenger of Allah, she is shy.” He said, “Her permission is her silence.”
Neither her father nor anyone else may force her. Her permission must be obtained: if she is a virgin, through her silence; if she has previously been married, through her express permission. She is not to be forced to marry someone she does not want, whether she is a virgin or previously married. Neither her father nor her other guardians may compel her, because the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade this. Yes.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website, fatwa 16688
حكم إجبار الفتاة على الزواج من رجل لا تريده
Ruling on Forcing a Woman to Marry a Man She Does Not Want
Full original question and entire answer collated; replaces the historical selected excerpt. The complete substantive question and both answer paragraphs on official lines11,25–26 are retained through the concluding yes. The displayed answer does not explicitly settle the separate validity clause of the caller’s question; no answer is invented to fill that gap.