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Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Child Marriage: Difference between revisions
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Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Child Marriage (view source)
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, 29 January 2023Updated intro in line with the recent work on related articles
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{{QuranHadithScholarsIndex}} | {{QuranHadithScholarsIndex}} | ||
The sira tradition is very explicit about the fact that Muhammad [[Aisha's Age|married Aisha when she was six, and consummated the marriage when she was nine.]] As Muhammad is [[Uswa Hasana|"al-insaan al-kaamil"]] | The hadith and sira tradition is very explicit about the fact that Muhammad [[Aisha's Age|married Aisha when she was six, and consummated the marriage when she was nine.]] As Muhammad is [[Uswa Hasana|"al-insaan al-kaamil"]]. This marriage was used by jurists of the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools in their discussions of compulsion of minors into marriage and the age of consummation, respectively (see [[Forced Marriage]] and [[Child Marriage in Islamic Law]]). Both the Qur'an and the hadiths have played an important role in legal and exegetical discussions on these topics, in particular Q. 65:4 which was generally understood to allude to divorced pre-pubescent wives. Though there was no minimum age for the marriage contract, Islamic law generally permitted a girl to live with her husband and consummate the marriage when she could tolerate intercourse without physical harm, which according to some jurists sometimes may be the case while she was still a minor. | ||
Today, [[w:Marriageable_age|many modern Muslim countries]] have legislated to raise the minimum age of marriage, in many cases to the age of 16 or 18 for girls (though often with loopholes or with ineffective enforcement) and to prevent forced marriage, often in the face of opposition from Islamic scholars. Many Muslim campaign groups and charities have been involved in this process and continue to offer help to those at risk (see the article [[Forced Marriage]] which includes sources of help).<ref>For example [https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php Muslim Women's Network UK] and [https://preventforcedmarriage.org/forced-marriage-overseas-pakistan/ Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative]</ref> In collaboration with activists, in 2019 the deputy Grand Mufti of al-Azhar University in Cairo issued a fatwa calling for marriage based on mutual consent with a minimum age set as 18.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/21/senior-islamic-cleric-issues-fatwa-against-child-marriage Senior Islamic cleric issues fatwa against child marriage] - Guardian.com</ref> Unicef say that the prevalence of child marriages are decreasing globally but are nevetheless common (including among non-Muslim populations in some regions of the world). | |||
==Qur'an== | ==Qur'an== | ||
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"and those who never had menses, their prescribed period is three months before puberty, which indicates that giving her into marriage before puberty is permissible."}} | "and those who never had menses, their prescribed period is three months before puberty, which indicates that giving her into marriage before puberty is permissible."}} | ||
Jurists struggled to reconcile their views on the right of a father to force his minor and / or virgin daughter into a marriage contract without her consent with the contents of the following hadith (which occurs in multiple similar versions): | |||
{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3307}}|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.}} | |||
==In Islamic Law== | ==In Islamic Law== | ||
{{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law}} | |||
The Encyclopedia of Unanimous Islamic Rulings says: “Scholars have unanimously agreed that it is permissible for a father to marry off his minor daughter without her consent.” | The Encyclopedia of Unanimous Islamic Rulings says: “Scholars have unanimously agreed that it is permissible for a father to marry off his minor daughter without her consent.” | ||
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==Recent Fatawa== | ==Recent Fatawa== | ||
A fatwa collection issued by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait, included the following fatwa:{{Quote|1=[http://www.fatawa.com/view/7436 Majmu'at Al-Fatawa Al-Shar'iyya, Fatwa no. 6058]|2={{right| | A fatwa collection issued by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Kuwait, included the following fatwa (though this and similar isolated fatwas are out of step with the Islamic legal tradition - see [[Child Marriage in Islamic Law]]):{{Quote|1=[http://www.fatawa.com/view/7436 Majmu'at Al-Fatawa Al-Shar'iyya, Fatwa no. 6058]|2={{right| | ||
هل يصح عقد الزواج على الرضيعة ويجوز التمتع بها بالتقبيل وغيره -سوى الجماع- بما لا يضرها؟ | هل يصح عقد الزواج على الرضيعة ويجوز التمتع بها بالتقبيل وغيره -سوى الجماع- بما لا يضرها؟ | ||