– ishtajarū: Derived from shajara al-amr baynahum yashjuru shujūran, meaning “they disputed about the matter.” The same root appears in the Qur’an: “...about what they disputed among themselves” (4:65). Hence, ishtajara al-qawm means “the people quarrelled.”
– bimā: the particle bi conveys causation or exchange, while mā is a relative pronoun meaning “that which.”

• Points inferred from the two ḥadiths:
  1 – A guardian (walī) is a condition for the validity of marriage; no marriage is sound unless a walī undertakes the contract. This is the view of the three Imams—Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad—and the vast majority of scholars.
  2 – The proof for requiring a walī is the ḥadith, “There is no marriage without a guardian.” Al-Munāwī says in his commentary on al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr that the report is mutawātir; al-Ḥākim collected it through roughly thirty chains. ʿĀʾishah’s ḥadith 848 explicitly rules any marriage without a walī null and void. Its wording is: “Whichever woman marries without her guardian’s permission, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid.”
  3 – The marriage contract is a serious covenant that demands extensive knowledge of its benefits and harms and calls for deliberation, investigation, and consultation. Because a woman’s perspective is naturally more limited and short-sighted, she needs a guardian who will protect her interests and ensure the reliability of the contract. For this reason—supported by sound textual evidence and the consensus of the majority—a walī is a stipulated condition of the contract.
  4 – The walī must be legally accountable, male, mature enough to recognize the interests of marriage, and of the same religion as the woman under his care. Anyone lacking these qualities is unfit to serve as a guardian in marriage.
  5 – The walī is the closest male relative of the woman. A distant relative may not contract her marriage while a nearer one is present. The order of priority is: her father, then her paternal grandfather (no matter how far up), then her son (no matter how far down), then the next closest male relative, followed by her full brother, then her half-brother through her father, and so on accordingly