Child Marriage In Sharia Essay

Conditions of child marriage in Sharia

As in Islam, marriage is necessarily considered as a civil contract; it has been given the same status as other contracts in society . However, it is not only a civil contract but also a sacred covenant (mithaq), which has the sanctity of Shariah and pleasure of God.

As a part of that contract, the Quran and Sunnah require as a general rule that the parties to be married must be major and have attained puberty . A minor is not allowed to get married in Islam. A minor in Islam is not defined according to age, there are conditions such as puberty which determine whether the child has attained marriageable age. However there are some exceptional cases in Islamic law, which provide a relaxation for those

According to such jurists the age of marriage is to be determined by a combination of other factors, including environment, climatic conditions, and physical growth. They promote the intellectual maturity to be the deciding factor for marriage.

Case Study of Hazrat Aisha:

With the precedence of the Prophet’s marriage to Hazrat Aisha when she was about 12 years old, it was unanimously agreed by all the four Sunni schools that there is no limit to the number of years that a girl must reach before the age of marriage. There is lot of debate on the exact age of Hazrat Aisha, ranging from 12-19 years in Islamic literature . There is consensus that this marriage was contracted in a special situation and was not solemnized for many years after the marriage.

The dissenting opinions in this regard are: firstly, that she was 12 years old at the time of her Nikkah (marriage contract) with Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H). The marriage was consummated at the age of 19. Second opinion is that she was 10 years old at the time of the marriage contract and was of 15 years she went to the house of her husband. The years of her birth is not proved in any narration but on account of historical data and related events, her age can be calculated