al-Wilaya fi al-Nikah
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- Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University
al-Wilaya fi al-Nikah (Guardianship in Marriage) is a two-volume comparative jurisprudential work authored by Awad bin Raja al-Awfi, examining the legal rulings, conditions, and forms of guardianship in Islamic marriage contracts.
Background and Publication
The work originated as a master's thesis submitted by Awad bin Raja bin Furayj al-Awfi to the Islamic University of Madinah in 1403 AH (c. 1983 CE). It was later published in two volumes by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University of Madinah in its first edition in 1423 AH (2002 CE).
Structure and Scope
The book consists of an introduction, nine main chapters, and eight comprehensive analytical indexes:
- Introduction and Preliminary Chapter: The introduction outlines the rationale for selecting the topic, its importance, and the research methodology. Chapter One serves as an introductory overview comprising four sections addressing the linguistic and legal definitions of guardianship (wilaya) and marriage (nikah), as well as the legislative basis and underlying wisdom of both concepts.
- Guardianship over Free Competent Women: Chapter Two covers guardianship over the adult, legally competent free woman (al-hurra al-mukallafa), detailing the general grounds establishing guardianship over the person and presenting the divergent views of the legal schools and their evidence. Chapter Three discusses seeking the permission of the competent woman, distinguishing between a virgin (bikr) and a non-virgin (thayyib), and the legal consequences of contracting a marriage without her required consent.
- Guardianship over Specific Categories: Chapters Four through Seven examine guardianship over minors (al-sighar), the mentally incapacitated (al-majanin), the spendthrift or legally interdicted (al-safih), and enslaved persons (al-arriqa'), discussing the authority of guardians to marry them off, compulsion, and their capacity to contract marriages for themselves.
- Causes of Guardianship: Chapter Eight addresses the legal grounds conferring marriage guardianship, categorizing them into kinship (qaraba), clientage (wala'), ruler authority or sovereignty (saltana), fostering (kafala), Islam, agency (wakala), and testamentary appointment (wasiyya).
- Conditions of the Guardian: Chapter Nine evaluates the eight prerequisite conditions for a marriage guardian: male gender (dhukuriyya), puberty (bulugh), sanity ('aql), free status (hurriyya), Islam, moral probity ('adala), legal discernment (rushd), and not being in the state of ritual consecration (ihram) for Hajj or Umrah.
Methodological Apparatus
The author appended eight specialized reference indexes to the text: an index of Quranic verses arranged by surah, an alphabetical index of prophetic hadiths cross-referenced to their documentation, an index of Companions' reports (athar), an index of cited poetic verses, a glossary of uncommon vocabulary and technical terms, an alphabetical biographical index of cited figures, an index of primary and secondary sources grouped by discipline, and a detailed subject index.
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