Permission of fathers

The question under consideration on the authority of fathers over daughters is whether the permission of the father is needed in the marriage of girl who marries for the first time.

According to Islam there are certain things that are certain. Both the son and the daughter as far as economics is concerned are independent. The property of a son and a daughter should be put at their disposal if they have reached puberty are in full possession of mind and are in addition mature that is when from a social point of view they have that degree of mental maturity which allows them to personally safeguard their property. The father mother husband brother or anybody else has no right to supervise or interfere.

There is another matter which is considered completely certain in connection with marriage. Sons when they have reached puberty and are fully in possession of mind and mature are free to make their own choice and no-one has a right to interfere. But in case of daughters there is a slight difference. If a daughter was once married and is at present a widow nobody has a right to interfere in her affairs and she is like a son. But if she is virgin and is going to enter into a marriage contract with a man for the first time what is the situation?

In so far as the father does not have absolute authority over her and cannot give her in marriage to anybody he likes without the daughter’s desire and consent there is no dispute.

We saw that the Prophet in reply to the girl whose father had married her without her knowledge and without her consent clearly ordained that in case she did not wish she might marry someone else. There is a difference of opinions among the fuqaha’ (Islamic law scholars) on the point whether an un married girl has no right to marry without obtaining the approval of her father or whether the approval of the father is in no way a requisite for a legal marriage.

However there is another thing which is also undisputed and quite certain that if the father refrains from giving his approval for no reasonable cause his right is forfeited and there is unanimity among all the fuqaha’ of Islam that the daughter then has complete freedom in choosing her husband.

As mentioned before there is difference of opinion as to whether the approval of the father is a necessary condition in the marriage of a daughter and probably the majority of fuqaha’ especially the fuqaha’ of recent times are of the opinion that the approval of father is not a necessary condition. However there is a group of fuqaha’ who consider it a necessary condition. Our Civil Law has followed that section of the fuqaha’ who base their precepts on the precondition and adopt the safer side.

Because the subject is not something undisputed in Islam we shall not discuss it. But from the social point of view we consider it necessary to deal with. Moreover my own opinion is that the Civil Law has taken up the right course of action.