848 – ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Whichever woman marries without her guardian’s (walī’s) permission, her marriage is invalid. If the husband has already consummated the union with her, she is entitled to the mahr (bridal gift) in consideration of the intimacy he has made lawful. And if they dispute, the ruler (sulṭān) is the guardian for anyone who has no guardian.”

It was narrated by the Four compilers except al-Nasāʾī and was declared authentic by Abū ʿAwānah, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Ḥākim.⦗1⦘

— Degree of authenticity —
The ḥadith is ḥasan (good). It was transmitted by Aḥmad, al-Shāfiʿī, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, al-Dāraquṭnī, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and others through several chains: Ibn Jurayj → Sulaymān ibn Mūsā → al-Zuhrī → ʿUrwah → ʿĀʾishah. Every narrator is trustworthy and appears in Muslim’s collection.

Ibn Maʿīn declared it authentic, al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan, and it was likewise authenticated by Abū ʿAwānah and Ibn Ḥibbān. Al-Ḥākim held that it meets the criteria of the two Shaykhs; Ibn ʿAdī reinforced it; Ibn al-Jawzī ruled it authentic. Though some scholars objected on the grounds of an alleged discontinuity, al-Bayhaqī answered their criticism and supported the report. Accordingly, the chain is ḥasan, and Allah knows best.

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• ayyumā: an expression of universality; it signifies that a woman is required to have a guardian in every case, without exception.