I am the sister of this girl, and I strongly believe that a woman cannot marry without her wali’s permission. If she does, the marriage is invalid. But now, I feel confused because my family—my father and mother—have accepted and supported her marriage, making it seem normal. I cannot support this because I know I will have to answer to Allah for it.
My sister knew that a marriage without a wali is not valid, which is why no scholar agreed to perform her nikah. Later, she heard from somewhere that it was allowed, so she got married and kept it a secret for many years. Whenever I tried to stop her, no one listened. In the end, I let her go with her husband because I couldn’t bear to see her crying. That was my biggest mistake.
Even in the Hanafi madhhab, the groom is not suitable (kufu) for her—he does not meet the required religious and personal standards. Because of this, I have fallen into deep sadness and stress. I do not want to sin by considering this marriage valid or by supporting it.
Now, I am thinking of telling her that I do not believe her marriage is valid. I also want to tell her that I cannot take responsibility for what I did for her. She will have to answer to Allah for herself, and I will have to answer for myself. I do not want to commit a sin by supporting her anymore.
But seeing my parents' support for her, I feel confused. They say that in today’s world, this is common, and many families accept such marriages. Because of their support, many girls in the family have started doing the same—getting married in a haram way—and the fathers ignore the Islamic ruling.
They accept the marriage only for their daughters' sake, but before the marriage happens, they do not approve of the groom or agree to the marriage in any way. Yet, after the daughters go ahead with it on their own, the parents eventually accept it.
I don’t know if my sister’s marriage has somehow become valid due to this acceptance or if it is still invalid.
In this situation, is her marriage valid or invalid in Islam?
