have differed regarding the chains transmitted from Mālik that deal with the attribution of this definition of shighār. Most of those chains leave the definition unattributed, and this was also al-Shāfiʿī’s position, for he said, “I do not know whether the explanation goes back to the Prophet ﷺ, to Ibn ʿUmar, to Nāfiʿ, or to Mālik.” Some scholars held that it is Nāfiʿ’s own clarification. Nor is the ruling confined to a man’s daughter; it applies to any woman under his guardianship.
Al-Qurṭubī remarked, “The definition of shighār is sound and accords with what the linguists have stated. If it is traced back to the Prophet ﷺ, that is exactly what is sought; and if it is a Companion’s statement, it is still accepted, for he knew the wording best and understood the context most fully.”
- The scholars unanimously agree that this form of marriage is forbidden, but they differ over its validity:
• Abū Ḥanīfah maintains that the marriage stands, and the bride is entitled to a dower comparable to that of her peers.
• Al-Shāfiʿī and Aḥmad hold that the marriage is invalid, because a direct prohibition entails nullity. In the Jāmiʿ another report is cited from Imām Aḥmad declaring it void even if a dower is stipulated; this was the view preferred by al-Khirqī, relying on the general wording of the report in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from Ibn ʿUmar, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade shighār,” and the like report in Muslim from Abū Hurayrah. In addition, Dāwūd considered the explanatory clause—“and no dower is exchanged between them”—to be Nāfiʿ’s own words.
Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn said: Allah has prohibited shighār marriages, and the guardian is obliged to marry off his ward once a suitable match proposes—as Aḥmad explicitly stated—seeking only her welfare. Therefore, if a dower is named merely as a ploy while the real intent is shighār, the marriage is invalid. This view was likewise adopted by the distinguished traditional scholar Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz—may Allah have mercy on him—in his treatise on invalid marriages. Allah knows best.
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The ḥadīth establishes the duty to offer sincere counsel and exert one’s utmost in every trust assumed—be it the guardianship of a minor or an incompetent, the supervision of an endowment, a public post, or any assignment delegated to a person. Such trusts must be discharged with honesty and devotion.
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The ḥadīth also prohibits an employee or official from exploiting those under his authority or the work at his disposal for personal gain.