Question:

Why Islam allowed to marry children (girls) of age below 10 without their permission (it is said that in the case of children, it requires the consent of their parents only). Marriage has to be taken place between the persons, who have even a little maturity. But in the case of children it does not happens. Can you justify this ruling of Islam (Child marriage) ?

Is it possible to have intercourse with girls before puberty, would not this physically and mentally harmful to the girl? Is such a thing permissible in Islam, and if it is permissible then what is the minimum age for marriage execution in Islam, since puberty is not a requirement.

Answer: Praise be to Allah.

Marrying a young girl before she reaches the age of adolescence is permitted in sharee’ah; indeed it was narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this point.

(a) Quran says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the ‘Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubt (about their periods), is three months; and for those who have no courses [(i.e. they are still immature) their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is three months likewise” (At-Talaaq 65:4)

In this verse we see that it has made the ‘iddah in the case of divorce of a girl who does not have periods – because she is young and has not yet reached puberty – three months. This clearly indicates that Allah has made this a valid marriage.

(b) It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of be upon him) married her when she was six years old, he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine and she stayed with him for nine years. (Narrated by Al-Bukhaari, 4840; Muslim, 1422)

The fact that it is permissible to marry a young girl does not mean that it is permissible to have intercourse with her; rather that should not be done until she is able for it. For that reason the Prophet (peace and blessings of be upon him) delayed the consummation of his marriage to ‘Aa’ishah.

Jurists discussed the issue of marrying a girl before puberty, i.e. a girl who might not be able to have sexual intercourse due to her young age.

They agreed that the Wali can marry a girl before puberty. But when she reaches puberty, she has the right to choose either to nullify the marriage contract or to continue her marital life.

Also, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, married Aishah, may be pleased with her, before she reached the age of puberty. Hence, we conclude that puberty is not a condition for executing marriage. The only condition is the wife’s ability to bear responsibilities of marital life.

However, we do not recommend marriage before puberty because at that early age, the girl can’t fulfill her obligations towards her husband properly, nor can she know her rights towards him.

Thus, to avoid any negligence or liability on her part we do not recommend marriage at such an early age. It is preferable for a guardian not to marry his daughter when she is still young unless there is a valid reason for that.

And Allah knows the best.