Shi'i Marriage Law in the Pre-Modern Period: Who Decides for Women?

This article addresses the differences between jurists of the three Shi'i sects - Zaydis, Isma'ilis, and Twelver Shi'is - concerning the marriage contract. In general, Zaydi, Isma'ili, and Twelver jurists agree on three elements of the marriage contract of a woman who is an adult, single, and a virgin (bikr). However, they disagree over certain elements of the contract, the dower, the role of the marriage guardian (wali), the minimum legal age for women to marry, and the role of the adult single woman in concluding her own marriage contract. I examine the varying degrees of agency each Shi'i sect granted women in contracting their marriages in the period between 900 and 1600 CE I argue that Shi'i substantive law (fiqh) is as restrictive as Sunni fiqh regarding a woman's role in contracting her marriage.