Walī is an Arabic word with a number of meanings, including, "protector", "helper", "a man close to God", or "holy man", etc. "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else, and in fiqh particularly "an authorized agent of the bride in concluding a marriage contract ", where the Wali traditionally selects the bride groom. The practice of forbidding girls and women from traveling, conducting official business, or undergoing certain medical procedures without permission from their male guardian by law continued in Saudi Arabia until 2019 when the laws were reversed.
Wali as agent of the bride
Muslim scholars have held that in order for the nikah to be valid, there must be consent of the bride, the groom and the bride's wali or male guardian. This view is held by most Muslim scholars, but the Hanafis hold that the wali's permission is not necessary for the nikah. The wali is typically the father or, failing that, a paternal grandfather or brother of the bride. Typically a father, brother or husband or paternal grandfather is wali mujbir, or if there is no Muslim relative, a qadi may function as wali. An order of succession of various male relatives is often spelled out by jurists. An example is this list written by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab: if the father is otherwise unavailable, guardianship should be assigned
first to the woman's brother, then to the paternal grandfather than to the woman's son.... passes to the tribe of the brother, unless it is law/base/despicable,... paternal uncle takes over, followed by his son, then other relatives in paternal relationships. ... Maternal relative only have a claim to marriage guardianship if there are not paternal relatives.... the sultan or political leader may serve as the marriage guardian... only if he is a just man.... Thus the critical factor in selecting an alternative marriage guardian is the man's adherence to justice, not his political position.
;Types The Hanafischool of Islamic law is unique among madhhab in recognizing the validity of a marriage where the woman acts on her own behalf and is not represented by a male wali. According to the founder of the Malaki school of fiqh, Malik ibn Anas, there are two kinds of custody or guardianship – khassa and `amma. Specific guardianship belongs to the patriarchal lineage – father, grandfather, etc.. General guardianship "was connected completely with Islam, and every Muslim male". An example of `amma guardianship is where a Muslim man arranges a marriage for a woman who does "not have a father, or other male family members". At least in the Hanafi school of fiqh, there is a distinction between a Wali ijbar and a wali ikhtiyar. A wali ijbar is a guardian who is "given the power of force" and has the right to arrange the marriage of a woman "without her permission". A wali ikhtiyar does "not have the authority to force", and cannot arrange a marriage without the bride's permission. The marriage requires "a verbal answer" from the potential bride to go ahead. The founder of the Hanbali school, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, believed that the wali ijbar was the right of the father or, if there was no father of a judge, with other imams that the role of a wali ikhtiyar "could be taken by all kinds of wali", not necessarily a relative on the father's side of the family. ;Other "guardians" While a husband or a mahram are not a wali, they also have "protector" status over women away from marriage. Husbands are sometimes referred to as "guardians" of their wives and families in English language sources. At least some Muslims point to Quranic verse Al-Tauba, 9:71 where "awliya", is translated as "protector", and where protection involves the presence of a mahram, being present whenever an unmarried woman meets the opposite sex and for other issues. His permission is also required for travel in some Muslim countries. In Yemen, as of 2005, women are not legally permitted a passport without the approval of their wali'', but are allowed to travel without permission once they have a passport. However law enforcement often disregard this freedom and "restrict a woman's right to travel if her guardian disapproves and reports her to the authorities." In 2013 according to Rothna Begum, of Human Rights Watch, women could not leave their house without her husband's permission, with a few emergency exceptions, such as taking care of ailing parents. In Saudi Arabia, as of 2016, "women may not apply for a passport without male guardian approval and require permission to travel outside the country."
In Shia Islam, Islamic Jurists often take on the duty of wali. Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, , is a doctrine asserting that Islam gives Islamic jurists custodianship over people. Prior to the Iranian Revolution this referred to guardianship of non-litigious matters including religious endowments, judicial matters, and the property for which no specific person is responsible. With the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran which institutionalized the teachings of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, most references to Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist referred to the idea that a faqīh should have guardianship over all issues for which Prophet of Islam and Shi'a Imam have responsibility, including how people are governed. This idea of guardianship forms the basis of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which calls for a Vali-ye faqih, to serve as the Supreme Leader of the government. In the context of Iran,, Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is often referred to as "rule by the jurisprudent", "rule of the Islamic jurist", or "Governance of the Jurist".
Saudi Arabia
documented the Saudi implementation of the wali, mahram and mu'arif system in 2016. HRW stated that "in Saudi Arabia, a woman's life is controlled by a man from birth until death. Every Saudi woman must have a male guardian, normally a father or husband, but in some cases a brother or even a son, who has the power to make a range of critical decisions on her behalf." In the 2010s, Saudi women organised an anti male-guardianship campaign.
