Answer: First, no one should be compelled to marry—male or female alike. Rather, a person marries only by his or her own choice and desire.

As for disobeying one’s parents in such a case, the matter requires detail. If the woman your father insists you marry—or the man a girl’s father insists she marry—is religiously unsuitable, then obeying him is impermissible, for this would be an act of sin; “there is no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience to the Creator.” However, if your reluctance is for a reason unrelated to religion—something to do with the person’s manners, temperament, or other worldly concerns—then it is better to comply with your father. That may well be in your best interest, for Allah the Exalted says, “You may dislike a thing while it is good for you” (2:216), and He says, “If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike something and Allah places within it much good” (4:19). Your father may have broader vision and foresee the consequences better than you. Therefore, if your aversion to the woman—or the woman’s aversion to the man—is not on religious grounds, it is preferable to obey the father and proceed with the marriage; perhaps it will bring about good, by Allah’s permission.

Question: With regard to a marriage imposed by force, is it valid?

Answer: If the marriage was concluded under coercion, without the person’s free choice—that is, he or she was compelled—then the individual has the option either to uphold the marriage or to annul it.

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Choosing a Wife

Question: If a man wishes to marry a girl who is either related to him or from outside his family, but she has brothers whose intelligence and discernment are deficient, and he fears for—