Nikah without Parental Approval

According to the famous relied upon position in the Hanafi school, the marriage of a woman without the approval of her guardian (wali) is only valid if the person she is marrying is legally considered to be a suitable match (kuf’). Otherwise, the marriage is invalid, and they would be considered to be living in adultery (zina). This is the position adopted by the overwhelming majority of the Hanafi fuqaha, and was chosen by Imam Ibn Abidin in his Radd al-Muhtar as well.

Therefore, you must avoid marriage with her without her parental approval, for the Nikah may not be valid due to the Kuf’ not being there. Even when a woman’s marriage without the explicit approval of her wali is *valid*, it is: (a) going against the Sunna and (b) may well entail being bad to one’s parents, which is among the most serious of enormities.

What you both should do is insist to her parents and press them in agreeing to the marriage, but this should be done will full respect, adab, and politeness. At times, a polite approach may be more beneficial to you. If this does not work, then try using the medium of someone else, such as an elder relative or family member who may explain to her parents. A scholar’s (whom her parents respect) mediation might be very useful. Try all possible ways and means in getting them to agree, and most importantly turn to Allah Almighty to make things easy for you.

If there is no light at the end of the tunnel, then you should take your case to a local scholar of piety and knowledge, and seek his guidance in the matter. Due to the nature of the issue (i.e. marriage being valid or invalid) each case must be examined separately and a blanket approach can not be made, thus you may refer to a local scholar. But that is after exerting all possible pressure on her parents to agree to the marriage.

And Allah Knows Best