ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ Ma‘qil Ibn-Yasār married his sister to one of the Muslims at the time of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him. They were married for some time, then he divorced her once and did not reconcile with her before the prescribed period1was over. He then desired to return to her and she to him, and proposed to her along with other candidates. Ma‘qil said to him, "You fool! I honored you with her, and married you to her, yet you divorced her. By God, she shall never return to you. This is the end of it." However, God knew of his need for her and her need for her husband, thus He revealed, "And when you divorce women and they have fulfilled their term, do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands if they agree among themselves on an acceptable basis. That is instructed to whoever of you believes in Allah and the Last Day. That is better for you and purer, and Allah knows and you know not." (2 [al-Baqarah]: 232) When Ma‘qil heard this, he said, "I have heard and I shall obey my Lord." So he called his brother-in-law and told him, "I will allow you to marry [her] and honor you." In this ḥadīth, there is proof that marriage is not permissible for a woman without the approval of her legal guardian2, since Ma‘qil's sister was previously married. If the decision were up to her, regardless of her legal guardian's opinion, she would have gotten married independently and would not have needed her guardian's permission. God addresses the legal guardians in the verse, wherein He said "do not prevent them from remarrying their [former] husbands" (2 [al-Baqarah]: 232), and as such this verse is proof that the final decision is up to the legal guardian when it comes to marriage and that the woman should approve of the marriage. 1The waiting period prescribed by Islamic law during which a newly widowed or divorced woman may not remarry. 2 A women's legal guardian in matters of marriage is her closest, adult male relative, who must be capable of acting in her best interests. ”