A wali is a legal guardian. A woman does not marry in Muslim society, but the wali, a man who is the father or his representative on earth, gives her in marriage. For more on this subject see the following: Imam Malik, Kitab al-muwatta, section on "The views of the virgin and the nonvirgin on their marriage," pp. 484 ff.; Imam; Bukhari, Al-Sahih, vol. 3, chapter on marriage, p. 250; Imam Muslim, Al-Sahih, vol. 3, p. 140; Tarmidi, Al-Sahih, vol. 2, p. 380