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Fatwa CenterThe judge is the guardian for a woman who has no guardian
Question
assalamu aleikum, A sister who has no Muslim mahrams may want to get married in an Islamic country. If the judge is appointed as her wali, he will sign a paper that she can get married, but he will not look after her affairs. Isn't this the point of having a wali? So can she appoint someone other than the judge to be her wali, someone who she could go back to if she had a problem, for example? JazakAllahu khairan
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
If this sister has a Muslim guardian, then she is not allowed to marry except with his permission, and if he resides in her original country but he is not able to attend the marriage contract, then he may deputize someone to marry her off. If this woman has no Muslim guardian, then it is the Muslim judge who would marry her off because a Muslim ruler or his deputy is a guardian for a woman who has no guardian as discussed in Fatwa 88488.
On the other hand, the person who looks after the affairs of a woman after she is married is her husband as he is responsible for spending on her and the like. If we presume that there is a disagreement between them [the wife and her husband], and they are unable to reach a solution, then in this case, she may take her matter to this judge who concluded her marriage contract or any other judge (in the court) to remove the harm off her. So, there is not problem. The fact that the judge is the same one who conducted her marriage contract, does not mean that he is not allowed to rule over her case.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 88324.
Allaah Knows best.
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