Assalaamualaykum wrwb,
Dear scholar,
I recently assissted a Nikah and I have a question regarding Nikah.
Is it permissible for a girl to reply (that she accepted the man in her nikah) instead of her wakeel replying? ( if the wakeel has already given his consent before the nikah)? It should be noted that the wakeel did not say anything during the nikah.
Jazaakallah Khayr

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.

First of all, you should know that if a woman has a guardian, then it is her guardian who marries her off and she does not appoint someone else to marry her off. If she has no Muslim guardian, then the one who marries her off is the Muslim judge or someone who acts on his behalf.

Of course, it is permissible for a woman to express her consent to marry a specific man. Moreover, if she is a previously married woman, her consent is to declare that she agrees to the marriage. Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated that the Prophet said: “A woman who has been previously married is more entitled to her person than her guardian [i.e. she should not be given in marriage except after consulting her]; and a virgin woman should not be given in marriage except after her permission.’ They asked, ‘How can she give permission?’ He said, ‘Her silence [indicates her permission].’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In any case, whether the woman is a virgin or previously married, the consent of her guardian is a condition for the validity of her marriage contract according to the preponderant opinion and this is the view of the majority of the jurists as we clarified in Fatwa 83629.

Among the pillars of the marriage is the proposal by the guardian, like him saying: “I marry off my daughter so and so to you …”, and the acceptance by the husband, like him saying: “I accept to marry her.”, along with the presence of two trustworthy witnesses.

As regards the wife, it is not acceptable for her to take the place of the guardian in accepting being married off, according to the view of the majority of the scholars as previously mentioned, but the marriage in this case is valid according to the School of Abu Haneefah, as they do not condition the consent of the guardian for the validity of the marriage.

Therefore, based on the preponderant opinion, if it is the wife who assumed the role of the guardian in concluding her marriage contract, then this marriage must be invalidated if it had not been concluded by someone who adopts the view of Abu Haneefah, or if it was not ruled to be valid by a judge who adopts the view of Abu Haneefah.

Based on this, if the two spouses wish to continue their marital life, it is an obligation to renew the marriage contract while fulfilling all the conditions and pillars of a valid marriage contract.

Allaah Knows best.