The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The previously married woman has more right to decide about herself than her guardian, and the virgin is to be consulted about herself, and her silence is her consent."This is a hasan sahih hadith. Shuba and al-Thawri narrated it from Malik bin Anas.Some people have used this hadith as proof for permitting marriage without a guardian, but the hadith does not actually support what they claim. For it has been reported through several chains from Ibn Abbas, from the Prophet ﷺ, "There is no marriage without a guardian." Ibn Abbas himself gave this same ruling after the Prophet ﷺ, saying, "There is no marriage without a guardian."The meaning of the Prophet's ﷺ statement, "The previously married woman has more right to decide about herself than her guardian," according to most of the people of knowledge, is that the guardian must not marry her off except with her consent and at her direction. If he marries her off without that, the marriage is annulled, based on the hadith of Khansa bint Khidam, whose father gave her in marriage when she was previously married, and she disliked it, so the Prophet ﷺ invalidated the marriage.
حدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد حدثنا مالك بن أنس عن عبد الله بن الفضل عن نافع بن جبير بن مطعم
أن رسول الله ﷺ قال الأيم أحق بنفسها من وليها والبكر تستأذن في نفسها وإذنها صماتها هذا حديث حسن صحيح رواه شعبة والثوري عن مالك بن أنس وقد احتج بعض الناس في إجازة النكاح بغير ولي بهذا الحديث وليس في هذا الحديث ما احتجوا به لأنه قد روي من غير وجه عن ابن عباس عن النبي ﷺ لا نكاح إلا بولي وهكذا أفتى به ابن عباس بعد النبي ﷺ فقال لا نكاح إلا بولي وإنما معنى قول النبي ﷺ الأيم أحق بنفسها من وليها عند أكثر أهل العلم أن الولي لا يزوجها إلا برضاها وأمرها فإن زوجها فالنكاح مفسوخ على حديث خنساء بنت خدام حيث زوجها أبوها وهي ثيب فكرهت ذلك فرد النبي ﷺ نكاحه
Muslim also narrated it in the Book of Marriage, Chapter on Seeking the Consent of a Previously Married Woman for Marriage by Speech and a Virgin by Silence, hadith no. 1421, from Qutayba, with the same wording. It is also found in Muwatta (Yahya) 2/524, 525.