OK for 10-year-old girls to marry, says Saudi grand mufti

[dardmand]

OK for 10-year-old girls to marry, says Saudi grand mufti

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s senior-most cleric said girls as young as 10-years old can be married, local media reported on Wednesday. Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh said in a speech that Islamic sharia law allows the practice of pre-teen girls getting married, and that critics of the practice were doing the girls ‘an injustice’, reports said. “We hear often in the media about the marriage of minors. We must know that sharia law is not unjust for women,” the cleric was quoted as saying. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\01\15\story_15-1-2009_pg1_7

[aimal khan]

from Saudi islam emerged and from Saudi Islam will disappear from the surface of the earth if such are Grand Muftis there,,,,,,,,what a shame giving such verdicts,,,,,,they r still living in the dark ages of abu jahal,,,,,,,

[Omar Khan]

stupid backward dogs...bunch of hypocrites..they are trying to inflict this backwardness on us...these arab sheikhs have so much power to do good but instead pay money to slaughter their own muslim brothers and sisters. now they are trying to marry off 10 yr old girls...they r sick and perverted.

[malikcs]

By the way, what was the age of Ummul Momineen Ayesha (RA) when she was married to Prophet Mohammad (SA)?

[Omar Khan]

By the way, what was the age of Ummul Momineen Ayesha (RA) when she was married to Prophet Mohammad (SA)?

apparantly she was only 10 or something but it was said she was past puberty..im not sure..brothers enlighten us with the references please:icon_biggrin: but girls before marriage before puberty is messed up and perverted....these guys go to the next level and take it to the extreme...

[Singleton]

His FIRST WIFE was a widow, as were most of his wives except for #3, who was 9 years old, and #7, who was his cousin.

All widows he married had money, which he did not have, so over time he built up a fortune marrying so many well to do widows. His youngest wife, age 9 when he married her, outlived him by around 48 years.

See details below.

1. Lady Khadeeja:
==============

His first wifewas a widow,was 40 and he was 25 when they got married. She was 65 and he was 50 when she died. They
lived together for 25 years. He never married again when she was alive.
The year she died is called the Sorrow year ... because he loved her so much.

2. Lady Sawda:
===========

Was a widow.
Was 55 and he was 50 when they got married.
She and her late husband ran away from their Folks after they became Muslims … so after her husband died she couldn’t go back to them … and she had no one to support her after him.
People used to look down at widow women at these days… so he married her to break the rule.

3. Lady Aaisha:
===========

Was 9 or 11 when he married her.Her father was his best friend Abu-Bakkr … and best friends at these days was like brothers so one doesn’t marry his best friend’s daughter as if he is her uncle … so he married her to break the rule too …
People at these days used to marry girls at this age … so it was not weird or strange to marry her in this age … besides she was considered ready to get married … an adult by this age …
Loved her the most.
Was the only one who was virgin when they got married.
Was alive for 48 years after the death of the prophet.
Was the main reference for everyone in all Islamic religion’s matters after the death of the prophet… including her father and the prophet’s companions.

4. Lady Hafsah:
===========

Her father was Omar-bin-AlKahttab … the prophet's best friend after Abu-Bakkr …
Was a widow.
So he married her because of her father … who gave a lot to Islam .. to honor him.

5. Lady Zienab bint Khouzaymah:
=========================

Was 60 and he was 55 when they got married.
Was a widow… and she used to help the wounded.
When her husband died she had no one to help her or support her … so the prophet married her to give her shelter.
Died two years after marrying the prophet.

6. Lady Om-Salamh:
===============

Was 55 and he was over 50 when they got married.
Was a widow with 4 orphans... 2 boys and 2 girls.
When the prophet knew about her he sent to her asking her to marry him … she refused and she said “I’m old and I’m a mother of orphans” … so he send to her telling her “I don’t care for your age and your children are mine”… so she accepted and they got married…
He loved her children more than their true father.

7. Lady Zienab bint Gahsh:
===================

Was the prophet’s cousin … grew up in his house till he married her to Zayd (his manumitted slave).
Before adoption was forbidden the prophet adopted one of his slaves whom he freed and called him “Zayd bin(son of) Muhammad” … but when adoption was prevented by verses that was sent to the prophet … people still consider Zayd the son of Muhammad … and the father doesn’t marry a woman who one day was the wife of his son and vice versa …
So when Zayd married Zienab … she used to look down to him and tell him rough words because he used to be a slave … and he wanted to divorce her but the prophet asked him not to … but one day she talked very rough to him that he divorced her…
So God sent some verses in the Quran telling prophet Muhammad PBUH that he must marry her to make people believe that he is not Zayd’s father
The verses are: (33:37)
“And (remember) when you said to him (zayd bin Harithah ; the freed-slave of the Prophet) on whom Allah has bestowed Grace (by guiding him to Islam) and you (O Muhammad too) have done favour (by manumitting him) "Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah." But you did hide in yourself (i.e. what Allah has already made known to you that He will give her to you in marriage) that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people (i.e., Muhammad married the divorced wife of his manumitted slave) whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him. So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her (i.e. divorced her), We gave her to you in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of (the marriage of) the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them (i.e. they have divorced them). And Allah's Command must be fulfilled.”

[Lakiwal]

There was no need for saudi grand mufti to issue such statement. 9-10 year old girls have innocence and have mind of childs .it wil b very sick to marry girls wid so tender age.
IT remind me of ayutullah khomeni who considered rightful to have sexual pleasure from female child.

[Qrratugai]

This backwardness is giving me a headache! Instead of moving on with time and civilization, we're going BACK in time, to around the 7th century when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) married Aisha when he was 50 and she 6 (though the marriage was consummated when the child was 9).

Still, I don't care that they did such a thing in the 7th century ... well, yeah, it's disturbing since we consider Muhammad (pbuh) our role model in EVERYTHING (oh wait, I forgot we pick and choose based on our personal desires what we should follow from his ideals) and we believe that we get extra sawaab for marrying girls off as early as they're 9 or 10, that it's Sunnah for us to do it. But can we pleeeeeeease realize that that was a different time and culture? That back then, few people cared about the feelings of women, especially when it came to marriage? That back then, when the Prophet married Aisha, nothing was wrong with it and even Aisha wasn't doesn't seem to have had any problems because of it in any of the hadith recorded by her.
But, see, we've let our following the Prophet's footsteps blind us.

Today, we believe in HUMANITY above all else :S We believe in the consent of the two parties being married. Sure, many Muslims will argue that Islam considers a marriage invalid if the consent of one or both parties has not been taken into consideration, but how do you ask a 6-year-old's permission to get her married? Some say that the parents can speak on her behalf then, but then... that gives way for forced marriages to take place! That allows for girls to be engaged from BIRTH (as has happened to quite a few Muslim girls I know)! Who calls themselves a human and accepts this as perfectly acceptable? And if the consent of the girl must be taken, then how do you ask a 10-year-old if she's okay with being married? And what kind of response should we expect from the baby girl anyway? :icon_confused: What does she know about marriage, men, being a wife, being a mother, being a daughter-/sister-in-law? Nothing! This is why I'm convinced that if the Prophet really married Aisha when she was hardly 6 (or even 9!), then we are NOT obligated to seek a girl's consent when marrying her off! Ahhh this leads us to forced marriages, and our support for why forced marriages have a place in Islam is simply that when Aisha was being given away as a bride to our Prophet (pbuh), her mom is recorded to have pulled her from the games that she was playing with her little girl friends; we read about the dolls she played with after marriage; we read about how her little girl friends, who would come to her house to play with her, would run off as soon as they saw the Prophet coming home! In some hadith, he tells these little girls that they don't have to leave but may stay and play with Aisha.

Aisha's PARENTS arranged the marriage (though some hadith tell us that the Prophet saw a dream in which he was to marry Aisha and then went ahead with it and told her parents that he must marry the girl because God wills it for it so); the little girl had nothing to do with it, had no say in it, didn't even know it was happening until her wedding day came up and her mom told her she will now be the bride of the Prophet of Islam.

While there's nothing wrong with arranged marriages in general, something goes oppressively wrong when one party's (which is generally the female) opinion and feelings are ignored or not even asked.
How can our Prophet demand that we ask our daughters' opinion before we get them married when it's obvious that Aisha wasn't asked before she was married?

So what does this tell us?
Are these "muftis" and "scholars" actually WRONG to say that marrying girls off at age 9 or 10 is part of the Sharia? They have every right to believe so when the Model on whom we have based on our entire living style did such a thing. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, we don't notice that we're now living in a century that considers such customs backwards and believes in giving *humans* a say in *their* life. We realize that if a girl is playing with dolls, she is way too young to understand, accept, and appreciate the institution of marriage. And we therefore rightfully condemn this barbarity of marrying girls at such a young age!

I long for Muslims to practice Islam in such a way that they LIVE within their times while doing it! Ahhh, this would call for a different interpretation of Islam/Quran/hadith, one that far too many Muslims are clearly proving to be unprepared for :confused:2

Not good for the future of Islam, I tell you. It has already repelled too many Muslims (the fact that it's acceptable in Sharia to marry a little girl to an elderly man, and that it's actually enforced in some hadith) and I won't be surprised if the predictable downfall of Islam that will eventually be the case, however many centuries or millenia later, will be because of the backward laws that our "muftis" (who are male, of course) not just encourage but enforce. And who dares to challenge these folks? :) They're our "authority" and we're obligated to respect authority ... even if we passionately disagree with them, even if we know they are being purely unjust to a group of people or a particular gender. All that matters is that they are the ones who interpret Islam for us, they're the ones who make laws for us, AND they use evidence from hadith / the life of the Prophet (pbuh) to justify their nonsensical, mortifying ideas.

Peace!

[Lakiwal]

This backwardness is giving me a headache! Instead of moving on with time and civilization, we're going BACK in time, to around the 7th century when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) married Aisha when he was 50 and she 6 (though the marriage was consummated when the child was 9).

Still, I don't care that they did such a thing in the 7th century ... well, yeah, it's disturbing since we consider Muhammad (pbuh) our role model in EVERYTHING (oh wait, I forgot we pick and choose based on our personal desires what we should follow from his ideals) and we believe that we get extra sawaab for marrying girls off as early as they're 9 or 10, that it's Sunnah for us to do it. But can we pleeeeeeease realize that that was a different time and culture? That back then, few people cared about the feelings of women, especially when it came to marriage? That back then, when the Prophet married Aisha, nothing was wrong with it and even Aisha wasn't doesn't seem to have had any problems because of it in any of the hadith recorded by her.
But, see, we've let our following the Prophet's footsteps blind us.

Today, we believe in HUMANITY above all else :S We believe in the consent of the two parties being married. Sure, many Muslims will argue that Islam considers a marriage invalid if the consent of one or both parties has not been taken into consideration, but how do you ask a 6-year-old's permission to get her married? Some say that the parents can speak on her behalf then, but then... that gives way for forced marriages to take place! That allows for girls to be engaged from BIRTH (as has happened to quite a few Muslim girls I know)! Who calls themselves a human and accepts this as perfectly acceptable? And if the consent of the girl must be taken, then how do you ask a 10-year-old if she's okay with being married? And what kind of response should we expect from the baby girl anyway? :icon_confused: What does she know about marriage, men, being a wife, being a mother, being a daughter-/sister-in-law? Nothing! This is why I'm convinced that if the Prophet really married Aisha when she was hardly 6 (or even 9!), then we are NOT obligated to seek a girl's consent when marrying her off! Ahhh this leads us to forced marriages, and our support for why forced marriages have a place in Islam is simply that when Aisha was being given away as a bride to our Prophet (pbuh), her mom is recorded to have pulled her from the games that she was playing with her little girl friends; we read about the dolls she played with after marriage; we read about how her little girl friends, who would come to her house to play with her, would run off as soon as they saw the Prophet coming home! In some hadith, he tells these little girls that they don't have to leave but may stay and play with Aisha.

Aisha's PARENTS arranged the marriage (though some hadith tell us that the Prophet saw a dream in which he was to marry Aisha and then went ahead with it and told her parents that he must marry the girl because God wills it for it so); the little girl had nothing to do with it, had no say in it, didn't even know it was happening until her wedding day came up and her mom told her she will now be the bride of the Prophet of Islam.

While there's nothing wrong with arranged marriages in general, something goes oppressively wrong when one party's (which is generally the female) opinion and feelings are ignored or not even asked.
How can our Prophet demand that we ask our daughters' opinion before we get them married when it's obvious that Aisha wasn't asked before she was married?

So what does this tell us?
Are these "muftis" and "scholars" actually WRONG to say that marrying girls off at age 9 or 10 is part of the Sharia? They have every right to believe so when the Model on whom we have based on our entire living style did such a thing. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, we don't notice that we're now living in a century that considers such customs backwards and believes in giving *humans* a say in *their* life. We realize that if a girl is playing with dolls, she is way too young to understand, accept, and appreciate the institution of marriage. And we therefore rightfully condemn this barbarity of marrying girls at such a young age!

I long for Muslims to practice Islam in such a way that they LIVE within their times while doing it! Ahhh, this would call for a different interpretation of Islam/Quran/hadith, one that far too many Muslims are clearly proving to be unprepared for :confused:2

Not good for the future of Islam, I tell you. It has already repelled too many Muslims (the fact that it's acceptable in Sharia to marry a little girl to an elderly man, and that it's actually enforced in some hadith) and I won't be surprised if the predictable downfall of Islam that will eventually be the case, however many centuries or millenia later, will be because of the backward laws that our "muftis" (who are male, of course) not just encourage but enforce. And who dares to challenge these folks? :) They're our "authority" and we're obligated to respect authority ... even if we passionately disagree with them, even if we know they are being purely unjust to a group of people or a particular gender. All that matters is that they are the ones who interpret Islam for us, they're the ones who make laws for us, AND they use evidence from hadith / the life of the Prophet (pbuh) to justify their nonsensical, mortifying ideas.

Peace!


1- Case of child marraige of hazrat aisha is very sensitive and i usually avoid it whenever it came into discussaion, the reason is that i cant prove my point in this case

2-does mullas consider marraige with 9 year old girl as sunnah?

3-I will descibe a case in our mohallah .......the mullah of our mohallah tried to marry her 13 year old adopted daughter to his fellow mullah of 36 years age who was unable to produce child by his third wife. his adopted daughter refused to marry and when pressurized for nikah by mullah, she ran away from home to police station and filed case against her father for forced nikah...police then arrested mullah... surprizingly such bold step by girl was condemned by every men and women of mohallah and every one show sympathy with mullah....!!!!!!!!!

[Qrratugai]

1- Case of child marraige of hazrat aisha is very sensitive and i usually avoid it whenever it came into discussaion, the reason is that i cant prove my point in this case
Well. We are not wrong when we say that it was acceptable in his time, though still a backward thinking of those who accepted it. But we need to leave that in the past and start living in the 21st century now.


2-does mullas consider marraige with 9 year old girl as sunnah?
Sunnah is anything that the prophet did, often not mentioned in the Quran at all but Muslims believe we get extra reward for acting upon it. Everything he did, whether mentioned in the Quran, is considered Sunnah, we're "supposed" to do as well since he was our leader and we consider him perfect.


3-I will descibe a case in our mohallah .......the mullah of our mohallah tried to marry her 13 year old adopted daughter to his fellow mullah of 36 years age who was unable to produce child by his third wife. his adopted daughter refused to marry and when pressurized for nikah by mullah, she ran away from home to police station and filed case against her father for forced nikah...police then arrested mullah... surprizingly such bold step by girl was condemned by every men and women of mohallah and every one show sympathy with mullah....!!!!!!!!!
Of course, LOL :) Even rape is often considered a girl's fault and she often never reveals her rape story because of what people will label her, AND she knows that no one will support her but instead blame her. What a rare and brave girl! I'm sure that if she could make such a graceful move against an injustice, she won't give a damn about the evil stares of the mohalla's sickminded people, whether women or men
Bravo to her! I'd like to meet her . . .

[Teresa]

Well, how can anyone dispute that we are talking about child molestation here? But the truth is Muhammad is not the only prophet to marry a young girl. So did other prophets before him, like Solomon. However, the question is, was it absolutely necessary for Aisha to explain their sex life? Now I do believe I recall a Hadith saying that it was wrong to speak of your marriage partner in this way. So then we must ask, did she really talk about her sex life with her husband the Prophet Muhammad or not? I don't think so. I think a lot of old nasty guys wanted to dream up new ideas of placing young girls under their thumbs, and even I' have read other accounts which indicate either he didn't touch her at all, even though she was his wife, or that the age is also incorrect. Now I will not judge, I see the good in why she came into the household for the sake of Islam. Bottom line, are these guys marrying for the sake of society to build something beautiful, or are they in it for the sex? That is why such ideas and actions are certainly AGAINST the great and mighty Allah.

[DawezayMomand]

3. Lady Aaisha: Was 9 or 11 when he married her.
"if Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of Hijrah, Ayesha was 17 at the time of Hijrah and 19 at the time of consummation of her marriage with Muhammad."

http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/ayeshas-age.htm (http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/ayeshas-age.htm)

[DawezayMomand]

But the truth is Muhammad is not the only prophet to marry a young girl. So did other prophets before him, like Solomon.
One bad does not justify another bad.


Now I will not judge, I see the good in why she came into the household for the sake of Islam.
Could she not remain a good Muslim even if being married to a man of her own age?


Bottom line, are these guys marrying for the sake of society to build something beautiful, or are they in it for the sex? That is why such ideas and actions are certainly AGAINST the great and mighty Allah.
Marriage is primarily and basically social legalisation of sexual life. Its secondary implications may be to build a good society as well. But how can a couple build a beautiful society if there is such a big gap in their age and if their sexual life is not a happy one?

[Qrratugai]

Not to mention ... the poor girl had to become a widow hardly a couple of years after her marriage, and she was forbidden from re-marrying (as all his other wives were: No wife of the Prophet was allowed to marry another man after he passed away).
Did anyone back then think of her widowhood when they decided to marry her to the elderly Prophet? . . .

[Teresa]

"if Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of Hijrah, Ayesha was 17 at the time of Hijrah and 19 at the time of consummation of her marriage with Muhammad."

http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/ayeshas-age.htm (http://www.quranicteachings.co.uk/ayeshas-age.htm)



Dawezay thank you for bringing this up. I had also read this when studying Islam. What is unfortunate is that many of the schollars are not much different than Christian Priests. They say what they want, fabricate, twist, manipulating the system.

You asked if mother Aisha could not have been a good muslim had she married one of her own age. You are correct in your thinking, if she was simply just another wife. But she was not. She was special, not because she was a child, but because she was the one selected by Prophet Muhammad to give the other half of our religion. Muhammad dreamed of her at infancy, was this a sick mode of lust? Heavens no. This dream came to him from Allah, or so he believed. That she was given to him on a silk sheet, this ment marriage. So why him? Why would Allah want this for a little girl?

It was not to promote child molestation, or promote child marriage. The prophet was old, and Allah knew that there was one child who could learn from him the best and teach the best after he is gone. Now it may be she could have been born a male, or born into the family of the prophet. Allah didn't want any boys, this includes Ali, to take over the religion of Islam right after the death of our prophet because of equality. This was a lesson of equality in religion, marriage, daily life, but when it comes to Aisha especially religion. She directed the battle of the camel, she was the spiritual guide to many questions, she was in every meeting with the prophet and his companions, her home was used as a place of religious teachings, and most hadiths derive from her (22,000).

On a personal note, I do not believe most of the hadiths, but the ones regarding reasonable logic and mirroring Qur'anic teachings i accept as real.

What I am saying is, you ask if she could not have been a good wife had she not married of her own age group. And someone else said, what a pitty she had to remain a widow because no one was to marry a wife of the prophet. But she was special. Her staying a widow and having not children kept her mind clear, focused on the bigger picture. The perfection of the religion of Islam, which Allah wanted to come from a woman so that people would realize the value of women in society and not disregard them or place them below men, once again. It was about perfect equality. Look, I have discovered that not only do many Islamic countries not even have a place for women to pray, but most of the women have never even entered the mosque! This is crazy and it make me so very angry!!!!!!