Marriage without a Wali (Sh Ayman and others please read)

[IbnShaykh]

Bismillah,

As Salaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Baraktu,

A situation has come about with my friend regarding his sister. Basically three years ago, a brother came to propose to her and met her two eldest brothers. Apparently they had met through the internet without their permission (forums or paltalk) and the guy had then come to propose. In essense from what I am told the brother was for want of a better word a clown. Not only did he have a warped and infantile understanding of Islam (he was a mojo and also an accociate of Abu Hamza's crew) but also generally had very little to bring to the table. He had no job, no education and no house. When asked how he would provide her with a home, he responded that he would move her into his parents place, even though they themselves were against the marriage and also were from a different ethnic background thus they would not be able to even communicate (she is Pakistani, he is Bengali). To compound the issue further he stated that he did not want her to work, or attend university but to stay at home. The sister also has a history of mental health issues and generally wasn't in a good state at the time, something that concerned her brothers.

When he met the brothers, he was obnoxious rude and offensive. Generally he was a complete joker, and her brothers were quite amicable and tried to see past that, as their sister was insitant on marrying him. They offered for him to wait until she finnished University (which she was just starting at the time) or for him to come to their city and marry her. He rejected both of these proposals and dropped the issue.

Three days ago, their sister went missing, totally out of the blue. They contacted her and asked, is it marriage that was the issue. They offered to marry her off, and help her as regards this issue, and she swore by Allaah it wasn't the case. She said it was a case of her 'independence' and she would be back after a few days. After continually challenging her she confessed that it was marriage. Prior to her disppearing they offered her full support in getting married to anyone she chose.

They managed to find out that it was the same guy from three years ago she had ran to. Apparently someone had conducted the nikaah for them, and they were now living together. The guy never came to them, or asked a second time to marry. He did not bother at all to consult them in anyway shape or form and neither did their sister. One of her brothers spoke to the guy on the phone and was throughly decent with him. He said that he feared him and his sister had an invalid contract and thus were doing zinah. He said please bring her back and we shall marry her off properly to you if that is what she wishes. However he pushed it stating it was a 'matter of evidences'. The brother told him that he was trying to sort the situation so please do not push it to which the Bengali brother responded 'I am willing to be a shaheed and meet my lord'. At this point the brother lost it with the guy, and threatend to come and harm him. He responded by saying 'go and suck on the cliterious of your girlfriend (meaning a sister who the wali wanted to marry). In addition to this his sister has accused her wali of zinah (with the woman he wants to marry) and called him a dog and other various names. She has also insulted her other brothers who are married and settled. She has constructed a false scenario to justify what she is doing, and has begun weaving lies.

The wali of the sister, asked for the number of the person who conducted the marriage and they would not provide the information. Later on they said it was a 'Abid Sadiqi' who had done it. From asking around it appears this is a false name and a bluff. The point is the person who conducted the nikaah and was appointed the waliyah never contacted anyone from her family.

After this exchange there has been no further contact. She is refusing currently to return and fully believes her nikaah is valid and that it isn't zinah.

The family are distraught, as they have a good reputation as practising decent people. Their mother (who is elderly and of 60 years of age) has had panic attacks as well as a minor heart attack due to this. They really are a good family, and have tried to support this sister in every way possible and she knows this full well. This is further adding to their distress as they have no idea why she has done such a stupid thing especially without asking them or consulting anyone of knowledge.

What makes this whole episode worse, is that Anjum Chodhury when asked about this said 'it is permissable and valid although some supliments were not met (ie: the waliyah). What kind of fiqh is this? From a conversation of 5 mins he says such a statement?

I ask can any of the knowledable brothers, like justabro, Sh Ayman and anyone else offer any advise and a detailed response to this?

Can anyone offer any practical advise of how to find this sister? She as I have previously stated has a history of mental health issues and depression and is generally immature and naive.

[Ayman bin Khaled]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته

My beloved brother,

Please check your PM. I answered you there.

barak Allahu feekum