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Fatwa CenterWali Recants of His Approval for Daughter to Marry
Question
If the Wali (guardian of the woman) says to a given man: "I give you my daughter in marriage". And before the man expresses his consent to the proposal, the Wali recants his offer. Is the offer binding, anyway or is the woman now free to marry another man?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
A marriage contract is not valid unless it meets some conditions. One of the conditions is that marriage should start with proposal from one side and acceptance (or approval) from the other side. Proposal or acceptance from only one party is not sufficient. For example, if a Wali (guardian of a girl) says: “I give you my daughter in marriage”, and the other person (fiancé) does not accept it, or if the proposing man says: “marry me with your daughter" and the Wali does not accept it; then, in both cases the marriage contract is not completed. The proposal of marriage and its acceptance are compulsory conditions. They should follow one another immediately. A long delay between the proposal and its acceptance is not acceptable and the duration of the period is defined according to the customs and traditions in each area. Therefore, the woman whose Wali says to a person, “I marry you to this woman” and the person does not express his acceptance of the offer, then that woman remains single not married.
Allah knows best.
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