Some Authentic Aḥādīth on Marriage
The aḥādīth contained in it are basic and are not intended to be used by the common person to derive interpretations, rather they are for the benefit of the readers in general.
The Following are authentic proof. I have taken most of them from the book Saḥīḥ al-Jāmīʿ al-Saghīr wa Ziyādatuhu by the scholar, the Muḥadith of our age, Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī. Two of the proofs were taken from It’haaf Al Karām Ta’līq Alā Bulūgh Al Marām by Shaykh Safī al-Raḥmān Al Mubārakfūrī. {The one who wrote Raheeq Al Makhtoom} Note that I am using the new edition of Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ, so the numbering of the Aḥādīth is not the same as those from the old version. You can refer to the Tartīb of Shaykh Zuhayr Shāwīsh to the new edition in shāʾ Allāh.
Here is what was easy for me to compile as proofs for the points I mentioned earlier:
1. The Mutual Agreement
“A Woman is not married until she is consulted, and a virgin is not married until you have her permission.” They said, “O messenger of Allāh! And how do obtain her permission? He (ﷺ) said: “If she is silent.” (An taskuta)
[reported by Abū Hurayrah raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu] [Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, and Sūrah al-Nisāʾī]
Shaykh Al-Albānī reports it in Mukhtasar Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim no. 602
He makes the takhrīj of it in Irwá Al Ghalīl no. 1727
He declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ vol. 2, no. 7470
2. The Walī
“There is no nikāh, except with a Walī.” (Lā nikah illā bi walī)
[reported by Ibn ʿAbbās raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu] [Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nisāʾī, At-Tirmidthī, it was authenticated by Imām Al Haakim – this particular chain is from Abī Mūsá] [It comes from another authentic chain in Ibn Mājah from Ibn ʿAbbās raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu]
Shaykh Al-Albānī makes the three of it in Irwá Al Ghaleel no. 1839
He declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ vol. 2, no. 7555
NOTE: So both chains are authentic.
b. “There is no marriage except with a Walī, and the Sultān is the Walī for whomever there is no Walī.”
[reported by Āʿishah, raḍī Allāhu ʿanhā] [Aḥmad, Ibn Mājah]
Shaykh Al-Albānī declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ vol. 2, no. 7556.
3. The Witnesses
“There is no marriage except with a Walī, and trustworthy witnesses.” (Wa Shāḥidī ‘Adl)
[reported by Umraan, and Āʿishahraḍī Allāhu ʿanhu] [Bayhaqī]
Shaykh Al-Albānī makes the takhrīj of it in Irwá Al Ghalīl no.’s 1839, 1858, 1860
He declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ vol. 2, no. 7557
b. “There is no marriage except with a Walī, and two witnesses.”
[reported by Abī Mūsá] [At-Tabarāni in Al Kabīr]
Shaykh Al-Albānī makes the takhrīj for it in Irwá Al Ghalīl no. 1839, 1858.
He declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ vol. 2, no. 7558.
4. The Contract
In It’hāf Al-Karām, I found the following:
(1018) And from Muʿāwiyah ibn Ḥakīm from his father that he said, “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ), What is the right that one of our wives has over us?’ So he said, ‘Feed her when you eat, clothe her when you wear clothes, and do not strike her on the face, and do not revile her or make ḥijrah from her, except in the house.’
[recorded by Aḥmad, and Abū Dāwūd, and Nisāʾī, and Ibn Mājah, and Bukhārī with some parts of it being Mu’allaq, and it was authenticated by Ibn Hibbān, and Imām Al Haakim] Shaykh Mubārakfūrī also considers it to be Ṣaḥīḥ. It can be found on p. 304 of It’hāf Al Karām.
5. The Dowry
“The best dowry is the most easy.”
[reported by ʿUqbah Ibn ʿĀmir] [Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, it was authenticated by Imām Al Haakim]
Shaykh Al-Albānī makes the Takhrīj for it in Irwá Al Ghalīl no. 1923
He declares it authentic in Ṣaḥīḥ Al Jāmiʿ Vol. 2, 3279
The following is taken from It’haaf Al Karām p. 307:
Chapter: The Dowry
(1027) From Anasraḍī Allāhu ʿanhu from the Prophet (ﷺ) that he freed Safiyyah, and made her being manumitted, her dowry. [Agreed Upon] Shaykh Mubārakfooree mentions that there are some Fiqh differences among the scholars regarding manumittance as a dowry, but the overall presence of a dowry in marriage can be established from this authentic Ḥadīth in general. And Verily Our Lord The Most High Knows Best.