Aisha's Age: Difference between revisions

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{{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law}}
{{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law}}
[[File:Child Marriage.jpg|thumb|Child bride with her infant daughter]]
[[File:Child Marriage.jpg|thumb|Child bride with her infant daughter]]
Shafi'i, founder of one of the four Sunni legal schools, used the example of Aisha's marriage in support of the Islamic legal concensus that a father had a right to enter his virgin minor daughter into a marriage contract regardless of her wishes. Founder of another of the four schools, Ibn Hanbal, alluded to Aisha's age of nine at consummation for some related rulings, reportedly including that a husband must be allowed to consummate a marriage once his wife reaches the age of nine (see [[Forced Marriage]] and [[Child Marriage in Islamic Law]]).
No age limits have been fixed by Islam for contracting a marriage according to Persian Professor at the University of Cambridge, Reuben Levy, and "quite young children may be legally married".<ref name=":5">Reuben Levy, ''The Social Structure of Islam'', UK: Cambridge University Press, 1969, pp. 106-7</ref> The girl may not live with the husband however until she is fit for marital sexual relations.
No age limits have been fixed by Islam for contracting a marriage according to Persian Professor at the University of Cambridge, Reuben Levy, and "quite young children may be legally married".<ref name=":5">Reuben Levy, ''The Social Structure of Islam'', UK: Cambridge University Press, 1969, pp. 106-7</ref> The girl may not live with the husband however until she is fit for marital sexual relations.


In Islamic legal terminology, ''Baligh'' refers to a person who has reached maturity, puberty or adulthood and has full responsibility under Islamic law. Legal theorists assign different ages and criteria for reaching this state for both males and females.<ref>John Esposito, "The Oxford Dictionary of Islam", p.35, Oxford University Press 2004</ref> In marriage ''baligh'' is related to the Arabic legal expression, ''hatta tutiqa'l-rijal'', which means that consummation of the marriage may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse. A number of jurists said consummation may occur even before puberty if the girl was considered to have reached this state.  
In Islamic legal terminology, ''Baligh'' refers to a person who has reached maturity, puberty or adulthood and has full responsibility under Islamic law. Legal theorists assign different ages and criteria for reaching this state for both males and females.<ref>John Esposito, "The Oxford Dictionary of Islam", p.35, Oxford University Press 2004</ref> In marriage ''baligh'' is related to the Arabic legal expression, ''hatta tutiqa'l-rijal'', which means that consummation of the marriage may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse. A number of jurists said consummation may occur even before puberty if the girl was considered to have reached this state.  
Shafi'i used the example of Aisha's marriage in support of his view that a father had a right to enter his virgin minor daughter into a marriage contract regardless of her wishes, and Ibn Hanbal used the age of nine for some related rulings (see [[Forced Marriage]] and [[Child Marriage in Islamic Law]]).


==Relevant quotations==
==Relevant quotations==
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