847 – Abū Burdah ibn Abī Mūsā relates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “No marriage is valid without a guardian.” Imam Aḥmad and the four Sunan compilers transmitted it. Ibn al-Madīnī, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Ḥibbān declared it authentic, while others raised the objection that its chain is mursal. ⦗1⦘

Imam Aḥmad also recorded, through al-Ḥasan from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, a marfūʿ report: “No marriage is valid without a guardian and two witnesses.” ⦗2⦘

— Degree of authenticity —
The ḥadith is sound (ṣaḥīḥ). It was collected by Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Ṭaḥāwī, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Dāraquṭnī, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and others. It was judged authentic by Ibn al-Madīnī, Aḥmad, Ibn Maʿīn, al-Tirmidhī, al-Dhuhlī, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Ḥākim, with al-Dhahabī concurring. Ibn al-Mulqin stated in al-Khalāṣah that al-Bukhārī also graded it authentic, and Ibn Ḥazm cited it as proof. Al-Ḥākim added that it is reliably narrated by three of the Prophet’s ﷺ wives—ʿĀʾishah, Zaynab, and Umm Salamah—and then listed thirty Companions in total who transmitted it.

Al-Albānī remarked: “The ḥadith is unquestionably authentic. The report of Abū Mūsā was deemed sound by numerous leading scholars; when it is further reinforced by corroborating chains and additional reports whose weakness is not severe, the heart is completely at ease in accepting it.”