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Forced Marriage: Difference between revisions
Automated script replacing USC-MSA hadith numbering system for Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud
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{{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law}} | {{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law}} | ||
As detailed below, Muhammad's marriage to six-year-old Aisha was cited in jurisprudence ruling that a child can be betrothed by her father without her explicit consent.<ref>{{Bukhari| | As detailed below, Muhammad's marriage to six-year-old Aisha was cited in jurisprudence ruling that a child can be betrothed by her father without her explicit consent.<ref>{{Bukhari|||5081|darussalam}}</ref><ref>{{Muwatta|28|2|7}}</ref> Consummation of the marriage takes place when the father and husband believe she is ready for it. The tradition that Muhammad consummated his marriage to Aisha when she was nine<ref>{{Bukhari|||5133|darussalam}}</ref> also featured in the opinion of some jurists. A number of Quranic verses played a prominent role both in Quranic exegesis and legal discussions about marriage with pre-pubescent girls, most noteably {{Quran|65|4}}, though also {{Quran|4|3}}, {{Quran|4|6}} and {{Quran|24|32}}. | ||
A father or guardian must ask the consent of his virgin daughter before offering her in marriage according to a well known sahih hadith. However, according to that same hadith, if she remains silent when asked, offering no explicit acceptance, this counts as consent to the marriage.<ref>{{Bukhari| | A father or guardian must ask the consent of his virgin daughter before offering her in marriage according to a well known sahih hadith. However, according to that same hadith, if she remains silent when asked, offering no explicit acceptance, this counts as consent to the marriage.<ref>{{Bukhari|||5137|darussalam}}</ref> As detailed below, if a girl was both a virgin and a minor, Islamic jurists nevertheless were agreed that a father could compel her marriage contract without her consent. | ||
Even if consulted, a girl would have to make a life changing decision on marriage while still a young child, with very limited experience and utterly dependent on her parents. Child marriages occur [[Child Marriage in the Muslim World|all over the world]], but especially in Muslim countries that practice the relevant part of the Shari'a. [http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/03/new-un-initiative-aims-to-protect-millions-of-girls-from-child-marriage The UN] regards child marriage as a human rights violation and aims to eradicate it by 2030. A girl is vulnerable to spousal abuse and childhood pregnancy which greatly jeopardizes her health and future. | Even if consulted, a girl would have to make a life changing decision on marriage while still a young child, with very limited experience and utterly dependent on her parents. Child marriages occur [[Child Marriage in the Muslim World|all over the world]], but especially in Muslim countries that practice the relevant part of the Shari'a. [http://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2016/03/new-un-initiative-aims-to-protect-millions-of-girls-from-child-marriage The UN] regards child marriage as a human rights violation and aims to eradicate it by 2030. A girl is vulnerable to spousal abuse and childhood pregnancy which greatly jeopardizes her health and future. | ||
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According to Professor Kecia Ali, Islamic jurists considered that the Quranic concept of "''Bulugh'', majority, was usually constituted by puberty, normally menarche for a girl and first nocturnal emission for a boy, though other signs of physical maturation could be taken into account."<ref>Kecia Ali, ''Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam'', p. 32</ref> Quran verses that mention bulugh were taken into account in jurist discussions on marriage compulsion and there was also much discussion centred around the following hadith: | According to Professor Kecia Ali, Islamic jurists considered that the Quranic concept of "''Bulugh'', majority, was usually constituted by puberty, normally menarche for a girl and first nocturnal emission for a boy, though other signs of physical maturation could be taken into account."<ref>Kecia Ali, ''Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam'', p. 32</ref> Quran verses that mention bulugh were taken into account in jurist discussions on marriage compulsion and there was also much discussion centred around the following hadith: | ||
{{Quote|{{Muslim| | {{Quote|{{Muslim||1421b|reference}}|Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: | ||
A woman who has been previously married (Thayyib) has more right to her person than her guardian. And a virgin should also be consulted, and her silence implies her consent.}} | A woman who has been previously married (Thayyib) has more right to her person than her guardian. And a virgin should also be consulted, and her silence implies her consent.}} | ||
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As well as the hadith quoted above, Muslim advocates of reform to laws on marriage highlight the following hadiths: | As well as the hadith quoted above, Muslim advocates of reform to laws on marriage highlight the following hadiths: | ||
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud| | {{Quote|{{Abu Dawud||2096|darussalam}}|Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas: | ||
A virgin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and mentioned that her father had married her against her will, so the Prophet (ﷺ) allowed her to exercise her choice.}} | A virgin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and mentioned that her father had married her against her will, so the Prophet (ﷺ) allowed her to exercise her choice.}} | ||
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===Marital rape=== | ===Marital rape=== | ||
{{Main|Rape in Islamic Law}} | {{Main|Rape in Islamic Law}} | ||
The problem of marital rape is particularly likely to occur in cases of forced marriage. A sahih hadith obliges a woman to have sex with her husband whenever he asks for it, as does Islamic law unless she is menstruating, fasting or severely ill.<ref>{{Muslim| | The problem of marital rape is particularly likely to occur in cases of forced marriage. A sahih hadith obliges a woman to have sex with her husband whenever he asks for it, as does Islamic law unless she is menstruating, fasting or severely ill.<ref>{{Muslim||1436d|reference}}</ref><ref>Mishkat al-Masabih Book I, Section 'Duties of husband and wife', Hadith No. 61</ref><ref>Al Tirmidhi Hadith No. 1160 & Ibn Ma’jah Hadith No. 4165</ref> In Iran, for example, ''tamkin'' is the word used to describe a woman's obligation to be sexually available at her husband's whim.<ref>Ilkkaracan, Pinar. (2008). [http://books.google.com/books?id=pnGwP9-FhxYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Deconstructing Sexuality in the Middle East'']. (p. 129). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company.</ref> There is no law in Islam that protects a woman from rape by her husband. In fact, a wife is a man's tilth, and he is permitted to approach her however and whenever he feels like it.<ref>{{Quran|2|223}}</ref> If she feels that she is being mistreated, she must seek a divorce from an Islamic court and prove the mistreatment. If her husband divorces her, but changes his mind before the mandatory 'idda is over, he may take his wife back whether she desires to remain married to him or not.<ref>{{Quran|2|228}}</ref><ref>[http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/75027/permission%20second%20wife The wife’s consent is not a condition of taking her back after divorce] - Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 75027</ref> | ||
==Slaves and Captives== | ==Slaves and Captives== | ||
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==Relevant Quotations== | ==Relevant Quotations== | ||
{{Quote|{{Muslim| | {{Quote|{{Muslim||1419a|reference}}| Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as having said: | ||
A woman without a husband (or divorced or a widow) must not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin must not be married until her permission is sought. They asked the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ): How her (virgin's) consent can be solicited? He (the Holy Prophet) said: That she keeps silence.}} | A woman without a husband (or divorced or a widow) must not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin must not be married until her permission is sought. They asked the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ): How her (virgin's) consent can be solicited? He (the Holy Prophet) said: That she keeps silence.}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Muslim| | {{Quote|{{Muslim||1420|reference}}| 'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: | ||
I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about a virgin whose marriage is solemnised by her guardian, whether it was necessary or not to consult her. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Yes, she must be consulted. 'A'isha reported: I told him that she feels shy, whereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Her silence implies her consent.}}<br />{{Quote|1=Dr Aamir Liaqat Hussain, Pakistan's minister of state for religious affairs|2=[It is] un-Islamic to stop husbands from having sex with their wives even if they were doing so without their consent.<ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\08\26\story_26-8-2006_pg1_7 No, it is unIslamic to stop husbands: Aamir] - Daily Times, August 26, 2006</ref>}} | I asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about a virgin whose marriage is solemnised by her guardian, whether it was necessary or not to consult her. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Yes, she must be consulted. 'A'isha reported: I told him that she feels shy, whereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Her silence implies her consent.}}<br />{{Quote|1=Dr Aamir Liaqat Hussain, Pakistan's minister of state for religious affairs|2=[It is] un-Islamic to stop husbands from having sex with their wives even if they were doing so without their consent.<ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\08\26\story_26-8-2006_pg1_7 No, it is unIslamic to stop husbands: Aamir] - Daily Times, August 26, 2006</ref>}} | ||