Wants bride and father to travel in order to marry

25-9-2002 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am engaged to a Muslimah who resides in X and I am in Y. Few weeks ago I applied for visa to enter X so that I can make Nikah but my visa application was rejected. If I apply for visa again it will take at least 5 months until I will be able to visit X, if I am granted the visa. Another option before us is that she travels to Y with her father and we do Nikah. She is willing to come to Y but her father is objecting to this and he says that this is against the culture or tradition and he wants me to try again for visa. She and I want to marry sooner and it will make it very easy for us if her father agrees to travel with her to Y. She is also willing to pay all the expenses for her and her father's travel and his stay in Y. Please give some advice to the three of us (me, her and her father). If her father is not justified, is this a valid reason in Shari'a to allow her to have another person as her Wali?

---

Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

There is no valid marriage without a guardian. Since a father is present and well-qualified for guardianship, no one else is allowed to make a contract of marriage.
However, the situation mentioned can be resolved easily if all parties cooperate. The inquirer does need not be present at the Nikah.
He can deputize somebody who lives where the father of that girl lives, to represent him in making the contract of marriage. In the same way, the father can deputize somebody who lives where the inquirer lives to represent him in making the contract of marriage.
Then, the women can travel to the country where her husband lives, but accompanied with one of her Maharam (unmarriageable people). Both ways are ok. Such an action does not constitute anything wrong or against traditions. It is normal among people to send a bride to her husband in another country.
As long as the father does not prevent his daughter from marrying a well-qualified person the father does not lose guardianship nor is he required to travel.
Allah knows best.