He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

“A man married a virgin under her father’s guardianship, without her permission being sought when the contract was concluded. She had previously been married to another man, but was divorced before consummation, without intercourse having taken place. The second husband then consummated the marriage and found her to be a virgin, but concealed this. She became pregnant by him, and their married life became settled. When the husband learned that her permission had not been sought when the marriage contract was concluded, he asked about this and was told: ‘The contract is void because she was a virgin and her permission was not sought.’ Is the contract therefore void? Does their intercourse constitute intercourse under a mistaken belief in its lawfulness? Must the marriage contract be renewed or not?”

He replied:

If she is no longer a virgin as a result of marital intercourse and has reached puberty, she may not be married without her permission, by agreement of the imams. However, if she is married without her permission and subsequently approves the contract, it is valid according to Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, and one of the two reports from Imam Ahmad. It is not valid according to al-Shāfi'ī and the other report from Ahmad.

If she has lost her virginity through unlawful intercourse, she is treated like a woman who has lost it through marriage, according to al-Shāfi'ī, Ahmad, and Abū Hanīfah’s two principal disciples. There is another view: that she is treated as a virgin. This is the position of Abū Hanīfah himself and Mālik. If her hymen has been broken through jumping, by a finger, or the like, she is treated as a virgin according to all four imams.

If she is a virgin, her father may compel her to marry, even if she has reached puberty, according to Mālik, al-Shāfi'ī, and one of the two reports from Ahmad. According to the other report, which is