Aslam

Praise be to Allah.There

is no doubt that the people in authority of all groups that claim to

be Muslim are obliged to adhere to the rulings of Islam in all affairs,

and that they should beware of anything that goes against that. It is

known in Islamic sharee’ah that guardians are obliged to arrange the

marriages of girls under their care if someone compatible proposes marriage,

because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And

marry those among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and

the woman who has no husband) and (also marry) the Saalihoon (pious,

fit and capable ones) of your (male) slaves and maid servants (female

slaves). If they be poor, Allaah will enrich them out of His Bounty.

And Allaah is All Sufficent for His creatures’ needs, All Knowing (about

the state of the people).”

[al-Noor

24:32]

And it was narrated that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If there comes to

you one with whose religious commitment and character you are pleased,

then marry [your female relative under your care] to him, for if you

do not do that then there will be fitnah (tribulation) on earth and

much mischief.” (Narrated by Imaam al-Tirmdihi and others).

Based

on that, then if one of your guardians who is related to you arranges

your married to a compatible person, the representative of the Bohra

group has no right to object to that, and the marriage will be valid,

so long as the conditions of marriage are fulfilled. That should be

done through the sharee’ah court in Mombasa so that no objections can

be raised by the representative of the Bohra group. If the marriage

is done in the manner mentioned, then your children will be legitimate

and neither the Bohra group nor anybody else will be able to deny that.

If your relatives refuse to marry you to one who is compatible in order

to please the representative of the Bohra group, then their guardianship

becomes invalid thereby, and the Muslim judge (qaadi) has the right

to do the marriage contract for you with the compatible person who has

proposed marriage to you, because the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The ruler is the

wali for the one who has no wali.”

The

qaadi is the deputy of the ruler and takes his place in such matters,

and if the wali (guardian) is refusing to arrange the girl’s marriage,

the ruling on him is the same as if he was not there at all.

But

we advise you and others in your position to forsake the Bohra madhhab

and other Shi’a madhhabs, because they go against the Islamic way of

Muhammad

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in many ways. So you have

to leave them and join the madhhab of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah who

follow that which is dictated by the Qur’aan and Sunnah and the way

of the early generations of this ummah, the Companions of the Messenger

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and those who follow them

in truth. I ask Allaah to guide this group and other groups which have

gone astray from the right path, and to show them the path of truth.

May He help you and us and all the Muslims to do that which will lead

to salvation and happiness in this world and in the Hereafter, for He

is the One Who is able to do that. Peace be upon you and the mercy and

blessings of Allaah.