In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Child marriages have become a serious controversy in recent times. Rulings related to ‘child marriage’ in classical Islamic law are not necessarily appropriate for a modern society in which people generally take much longer to socially develop into adulthood. This issue highlights the importance of applying Islamic ‘principles’ (usul) and ‘maxims’ (qawa’id) to different circumstances in order to achieve the best outcomes intended by Allah, the Lawgiver, as Islam does not allow any legal avenue for child abuse.
The practice of marrying children was common in the premodern world. The 12th century Decretum Gratiani mandates consent at an undefined “age of discretion” and acknowledges that sexual relations and marriage might occur as early as seven years. Some Christian sources state that Mary was to be married to the ninety-year-old St. Joseph when she was only twelve or fourteen.
As late as the mid-19th century, the United Kingdom’s Offences Against the Person Act legally allowed sexual relations with twelve-year-olds. Around the same time in the United States, each state set its own criminal law, with the age of consent ranging from 10 to 12 years. It is only at the beginning of the late 19th century, spurred by the Industrial Revolution’s rapid economic growth and technological development, that attitudes shifted toward setting the age ever higher.
In premodern contexts, classical Muslim jurists did not recognize the modern biological concept of ‘puberty’ as the dividing line between childhood and adulthood. Rather, ‘maturity’ (rushd) was considered the quality necessary for a ‘child’ to graduate into the duties and activities of adulthood, such as marriage.
Allah said:
وَٱبْتَلُوا۟ ٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغُوا۟ ٱلنِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ ءَانَسْتُم مِّنْهُمْ رُشْدًۭا فَٱدْفَعُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ
Test the competence of the orphans until they reach a marriageable age. Then if you feel they are capable of ‘sound judgment’ (rushd), return their wealth to them.
Surat al-Nisa’ 4:6
The classical jurists allowed a marriage to be contracted between children, but they did not allow it to be consummated until both parties reached the age of maturity as defined by the social conventions of the time, which was usually physical readiness for sexual intercourse.
Most jurists did not set a specific age of marriageability because it was determined by social customs rather than divine law.
Imam Ibn Battal writes:
أجمع العلماء على أنه يجوز للآباء تزويج الصغار من بناتهم وإن كن فى المهد إلا أنه لا يجوز لأزواجهن البناء بهن إلا إذا صلحن للوطء
The scholars agreed that it is permissible for fathers to marry off their young daughters, even if they are in the cradle, except it is not permissible for their husbands to consummate the marriage with them until they are prepared to safely have intercourse.
Source: Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7/172
Imam al-Nawawi writes:
وَأَمَّا وَقْتُ زِفَافِ الصَّغِيرَةِ الْمُزَوَّجَةِ وَالدُّخُولُ بِهَا فَإِنِ اتَّفَقَ الزَّوْجُ وَالْوَلِيُّ عَلَى شَيْءٍ لَا ضَرَرَ فِيهِ عَلَى الصَّغِيرَةِ عُمِلَ بِهِ … وَقَالَ مَالِكٌ وَالشَّافِعِيُّ وَأَبُو حَنِيفَةَ حَدُّ ذَلِكَ أَنْ تُطِيقَ الْجِمَاعَ وَيَخْتَلِفُ ذَلِكَ بِاخْتِلَافِهِنَّ وَلَا يُضْبَطُ بِسِنٍّ وَهَذَا هُوَ الصَّحِيحُ
As for the time of the wedding of a married young girl and consummation of the marriage, if the husband and guardian agree on something that does not cause harm to the young girl, it is to be followed… Malik, Al-Shafi’i, and Abu Hanifa said that the limit for that is if she is able to have sexual intercourse, and that varies according to their differences and is not determined by age, and this is the correct opinion.
Source: Sharḥ al-Nawawī ‘alá Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 9/206
And Imam Ibn Nujaym writes:
وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي وَقْتِ الدُّخُولِ بِالصَّغِيرَةِ فَقِيلَ لَا يَدْخُلُ بِهَا مَا لَمْ تَبْلُغْ وَقِيلَ يَدْخُلُ بِهَا إذَا بَلَغَتْ تِسْعَ سِنِينَ وَقِيلَ إنْ كَانَتْ سَمِينَةً جَسِيمَةً تُطِيقُ الْجِمَاعَ يَدْخُلُ بِهَا وَإِلَّا فَلَا
The scholars differed as to the time when one could consummate with a young girl. It is said that it is not permissible to consummate with her as long as she has not reached puberty, it is said he may consummate with her when she reaches nine years, and it is said he may consummate with her if her body is large enough to handle intercourse, otherwise he may not.
Source: al-Baḥr al-Rā’iq 3/128
The classical ruling does not allow physical, sexual, or psychological harm to be caused to children or adolescents under any circumstances, in accordance with the well-established legal maxim.
If a new wife was too physically “small” (saghirah) or thin to have intercourse with her larger husband, despite reaching the marriageable age of adulthood set by social custom, the jurists forbade them from having intercourse but allowed other types of gentler intimacy to act as consummation.
Imam al-Nawawi writes:
فان كان يمكن جماعها من غير ضرر بها كان له ذلك وان كان لا يمكن جماعها الا بالاضرار بها لم يجز له جماعها بل يستمتع بها فيما دون فرجها
If it is possible to have intercourse with her without harming her, he may do that. If it is not possible for him to have intercourse with her except by harming her, he does not have permission to have intercourse with her, but they may be intimate without touching genitals.
Source: al-Majmū’ Sharḥ al-Muhadhab 16/409
Al-Khatib al-Shirbini writes:
وَيَحْرُمُ وَطْءُ مَنْ لَا تَحْتَمِلُ الْوَطْءَ لِصِغَرٍ أَوْ جُنُونٍ أَوْ مَرَضٍ أَوْ هُزَالٍ أَوْ نَحْوِ ذَلِكَ لِتَضَرُّرِهَا بِهِ وَتُمْهَلُ حَتَّى تُطِيقَ
Sexual intercourse is forbidden for any woman who cannot endure intercourse, either due to being small, insane, sick, emaciated, or likewise, as it would harm her. She is given time until she is capable.
Source: Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 4/373
According to the correct legal opinion, the children whose marriage was contracted before they reached marriageable age must have provided consent before the marriage was officially consummated.
Aisha reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, should women be asked for their consent before marriage?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
نَعَمْ
Yes.
I said, “Indeed, sometimes a virgin is too shy to speak when asked.” The Prophet said:
سُكَاتُهَا إِذْنُهَا
Her silence is her consent.
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6946, Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi
Imam al-Tirmidhi writes:
فَرَأَى بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ الْيَتِيمَةَ إِذَا زُوِّجَتْ فَالنِّكَاحُ مَوْقُوفٌ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ فَإِذَا بَلَغَتْ فَلَهَا الْخِيَارُ فِي إِجَازَةِ النِّكَاحِ أَوْ فَسْخِهِ وَهُوَ قَوْلُ بَعْضِ التَّابِعِينَ وَغَيْرِهِمْ
Some scholars held the view that an orphan girl, if she is married, the contract is suspended until she reaches maturity. Then, when she reaches maturity, she has the choice to consummate the marriage or annul it. Such was the opinion of a group among the Successors and others.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2/402
And Imam al-Nawawi writes:
وَقَالَ أَهْلُ الْعِرَاقِ لَهَا الْخِيَارُ إِذَا بَلَغَتْ … وَقَالَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ وَأَبُو حَنِيفَةَ وَآخَرُونَ مِنَ السَّلَفِ يَجُوزُ لِجَمِيعِ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ وَيَصِحُّ وَلَهَا الْخِيَارُ إِذَا بَلَغَتْ
The scholars of Iraq say she has the choice when she reaches maturity… Al-Awza’i, Abu Hanifa, and others among the Salaf allowed any guardian to validate the marriage contract and they gave her the choice when she reaches maturity.
Source: Sharḥ al-Nawawī ‘alá Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 9/206
As such, forced marriages between children are not allowed in Islamic law because both husband and wife must consent to the consummation of the marriage contract as adults, in accordance with the Prophet’s ﷺ explicit command.
Moreover, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ stated that the objectives of marriage in Islam are “love” and “mercy,” which contradict any coercive or harmful practices.
Allah said:
وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًۭا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةًۭ وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
One of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you affection and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.
Surat al-Rum 30:21
Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
لَمْ نَرَ لِلْمُتَحَابَّيْنِ مِثْلَ النِّكَاحِ
We do not see for those who love one another anything like marriage.
Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah 1847, Grade: Sahih
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah commented:
وَأَمَّا تَزْوِيجُهَا مَعَ كَرَاهَتِهَا لِلنِّكَاحِ فَهَذَا مُخَالِفٌ لِلْأُصُولِ وَالْعُقُولِ وَاَللَّهُ لَمْ يُسَوِّغْ لِوَلِيِّهَا أَنْ يُكْرِهَهَا عَلَى بَيْعٍ أَوْ إجَارَةٍ إلَّا بِإِذْنِهَا وَلَا عَلَى طَعَامٍ أَوْ شَرَابٍ أَوْ لِبَاسٍ لَا تُرِيدُهُ فَكَيْفَ يُكْرِهُهَا عَلَى مُبَاضَعَةِ وَمُعَاشَرَةِ مَنْ تَكْرَهُ مُبَاضَعَتَهُ وَمُعَاشَرَةَ مَنْ تَكْرَهُ مُعَاشَرَتَهُ وَاَللَّهُ قَدْ جَعَلَ بَيْنَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً فَإِذَا كَانَ لَا يَحْصُلُ إلَّا مَعَ بُغْضِهَا لَهُ وَنُفُورِهَا عَنْهُ فَأَيُّ مَوَدَّةٍ وَرَحْمَةٍ فِي ذَلِكَ
As for marrying her off despite her unwillingness, this contradicts fundamental principles and sound reasoning. Allah did not allow her guardian to force her into buying or renting unless she consents, nor to eat, drink, or wear something she does not want. How can he force her to be intimate and interact with a man she does not want to be intimate with? Or to live with a man she does not want to live with? Allah has placed love and mercy between spouses. If a marriage cannot be contracted unless she hates him and he is repulsive to her, then where is the love and mercy in that?
Source: Majmū’ al-Fatāwá 32/25
The classical jurists did not encourage child marriage in any sense, but merely permitted it. Some of them discouraged or even prohibited contracting marriage between children who had not reached the age of maturity.
Imam al-Nawawi writes:
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الشَّافِعِيَّ وَأَصْحَابَهُ قَالُوا وَيُسْتَحَبُّ أنْ لَا يُزَوِّجَ الْأَبُ وَالْجَدُّ الْبِكْرَ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ وَيَسْتَأْذِنُهَا لِئَلَّا يُوقِعَهَا فِي أَسْرِ الزَّوْجِ وَهِيَ كَارِهَةٌ
Know that Al-Shafi’i and his companions encouraged a father or grandfather not to marry off a virgin girl until she reaches maturity and he obtains her consent, that she may not be trapped with a husband she dislikes.
Source: Sharḥ al-Nawawī ‘alá Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 9/206
Imam Ibn Shubrumah said:
لَا يَجُوزُ إنْكَاحُ الْأَبِ ابْنَتَهُ الصَّغِيرَةَ إلَّا حَتَّى تَبْلُغَ وَتَأْذَنَ
It is not permissible for a father to marry off his young daughter unless she has reached maturity and given her permission.
Source: al-Muḥallá bil-Āthār 9/38
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen commented on this statement:
وهذا القول هو الصواب أن الأب لا يزوج بنته حتى تبلغ وإذا بلغت فلا يزوجها حتى ترضى
This is the correct opinion, that a father may not marry off his daughter until she has reached maturity, and after maturity he may not marry her off until she has given her consent.
Source: al-Sharḥ al-Mumti’ ‘alá Zād al-Mustaqni’ 12/58
The Prophet ﷺ did not recommend the contraction of a marriage between a child and an adult, even though it may be beneficial in some specific circumstances, such as marriages that solidify important political alliances.
Burayda reported: Abu Bakr and Umar offered a marriage proposal to the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
إِنَّهَا صَغِيرَةٌ
She is too young.
Source: Sunan al-Nasā’ī 3221, Grade: Sahih
Imam al-Qari commented:
الْمُرَادُ أَنَّهَا صَغِيرَةٌ بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَيْهِمَا لِكِبَرِ سِنِّهِمَا وَزَوَّجَهَا مِنْ عَلِيٍّ لِمُنَاسَبَةِ سِنِّهِ لَهَا
The meaning is that she was too young to be suitable for the older age of Abu Bakr and Umar, so the Prophet married her to Ali, who was of suitable age.
Source: Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ 6104
In general, it is better for marriages to take place between people of equal or similar age. The Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to Aisha was a special case because it politically united the households of Muhammad and Abu Bakr.
As for the age of consummating marriage, children in the time of the Prophet ﷺ were usually considered ready for the duties and activities of adults when they reached the age of nine. This was partly due to the much lower life expectancy at the time.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْجَارِيَةُ تِسْعَ سِنِينَ فَهِيَ امْرَأَةٌ
When a girl reaches the age of nine, she has become a woman.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2/402
It was possible, then, for social conditions to warrant a marriage contract as appropriately consummated even before biological puberty had taken place. This is why the verse 65:4 provides rules for the ‘waiting period of divorce’ (‘iddah) for women who had not yet experienced menstruation:
وَٱلَّـٰٓـِٔى يَئِسْنَ مِنَ ٱلْمَحِيضِ مِن نِّسَآئِكُمْ إِنِ ٱرْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَـٰثَةُ أَشْهُرٍۢ وَٱلَّـٰٓـِٔى لَمْ يَحِضْنَ
As for your women past the age of menstruation, in case you do not know, their waiting period is three months, and those who have not menstruated as well.
Surat al-Talaq 65:4
The ‘women’ mentioned in this verse are by definition adults, but like most other societies at the time, processes of biological puberty like menstruation were not strictly considered a dividing line between childhood and adulthood. Instead, physical and social maturity were the markers determining whether a child could function effectively in adult society. The verse also applies to cases of physical disorders that prevent menstruation at the expected ages.
Setting the marriage age at nine years as a universal rule is problematic for developed societies, whose younger populations require substantially more education and experience to reach adulthood. Even classical scholars did not regard nine years as the legally defined age of marriage in Islamic law, as they recognized that context matters.
Imam Ibn Qudamah writes:
وَإِمْكَانُ الْوَطْءِ فِي الصَّغِيرَةِ مُعْتَبَرٌ بِحَالِهَا وَاحْتِمَالِهَا لِذَلِكَ قَالَهُ الْقَاضِي وَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُنَّ يَخْتَلِفْنَ فَقَدْ تَكُونُ صَغِيرَةَ السِّنِّ تَصْلُحُ وَكَبِيرَةً لَا تَصْلُحُ … قَالَ الْقَاضِي وَهَذَا عِنْدِي لَيْسَ عَلَى طَرِيقِ التَّحْدِيدِ وَإِنَّمَا ذَكَرَهُ لِأَنَّ الْغَالِبَ أَنَّ ابْنَةَ تِسْعٍ يَتَمَكَّنُ مِنْ الِاسْتِمْتَاعِ بِهَا
The possibility of intercourse with a young girl is considered according to her condition and her ability to bear it. This was stated by Al-Qadi, who mentioned that they differ. She may be young and suitable, or older and not suitable… Al-Qadi said, ‘In my opinion, this is not a specific limit.’ Rather, it was mentioned because a nine-year-old girl is usually ready for intimacy.
Source: al-Mughnī 7/259
In reality, Islamic law does not set a single universal age limit for marriage, because the circumstances of societies and populations vary widely across time and place. Classical jurists understood maturity for marriage as a combination of factors, including physical development, health, and practical capacity, rather than a fixed numerical age.
The scholars generally treated puberty (bulugh) as the primary marker of legal adulthood for many religious and legal obligations. However, jurists also recognized that puberty alone did not automatically determine suitability for marital relations. They therefore considered an additional practical criterion: the individual’s physical condition, health, and ability to bear marital responsibilities, including intimacy. This assessment was based on observable development and individual circumstances.
Because classical scholars lacked access to modern endocrinology and developmental biology, they did not conceptualize puberty in the precise biomedical terms used today. Instead, they relied on visible signs of maturation and practical judgment. In many cases, these observations corresponded with what modern medicine would recognize as pubertal development, but the categories employed by jurists were legal and social rather than scientific.
In contemporary societies, even biological puberty alone is not considered sufficient to determine the marriageable age in law and social practice. Most modern legal systems—including those of Muslim-majority countries—set statutory minimum marriage ages, typically between sixteen and eighteen years, reflecting changes in education, economics, and social expectations.
Modern societies require prolonged schooling, delayed entry into the workforce, and the acquisition of complex skills necessary for independent living. As a result, social adulthood now occurs significantly later than it did in many premodern settings. In earlier agrarian societies, where life expectancy was lower and economic roles were assumed at younger ages, the transition into adult responsibilities often occurred earlier by social necessity. These differences in social structure explain why standards of marriageable age have varied across historical contexts.
Islamic law considers both social custom (‘urf) and societal welfare (maslahah) in establishing rules related to human interactions, as opposed to acts of worship, which must be based solely on divine revelation. Muslim governments, in consultation with their populations, have the authority to restrict what is permissible (taqyid al-mubah) in the general interests of society.
Shaykh Wahb al-Zuhayli writes:
لأن طاعة ولي الأمر واجبة وله سلطة تقييد المباح عند جماعة من الفقهاء … وأولو الأمر في المعرفة هم العلماء وفي السياسة هم الأمراء والولاة والحكام
As obedience to those in authority is obligatory, the ruler has license to restrict the permissible according to a group of jurists… Those in authority of knowledge are the scholars, and those in authority of politics are the rulers, governors, and judges.
Source: Wasaṭīyat al-Islām 1/31
Hence, if Islamic law did permit marriage at the age of nine in some times and places where it made sense, it can also forbid it in other situations where it might cause unintended harm. On this basis, nearly all Muslim countries prohibit the contraction and consummation of marriages between children.
Shaykh Nuh ‘Ali Salman writes:
عقد الزواج قبل البلوغ صحيح بشرط أن يقوم به الأب أو الجد نيابة عن الصغير ولكن ولاة أمور المسلمين قد منعوا من إجراء عقد الصغير والصغيرة دفعًا لما ينشأ عنه من مفاسد ويجب التقيُّد بأوامر ولاة الأمور في هذا الموضوع لأن وليّ الأمر إذا نهى عن مباح وجب على الرعيّة أن يتركوه
لكن لو حصل العقد بالشروط الشرعيّة حسب أحكام الفقه الإسلاميّ ترتّب عليه ما يترتّب على العقد الصحيح من حرمة النسب وغيره من الأحكام
A marriage contracted before puberty is valid, provided that it is performed by the father or grandfather on behalf of the minor. However, Muslim authorities have prohibited marriage contracts for minors, both boys and girls, to prevent the resulting harms. The orders of Muslim authorities must be adhered to in this regard, because if a ruler forbids something permissible, the citizens must abandon it.
However, if the marriage contract is performed according to the legal conditions, according to the rulings of Islamic jurisprudence, it will result in the same consequences as a valid marriage contract, such as the prohibition of lineage and other rulings.
Source: Fatāwá al-Aḥwāl al-Shakhṣīyah 21
Rather than defying Islamic law, such rulings are perfectly consistent with it, because the law accounts for the shifting circumstances of different societies across time and place. This makes Islam flexible enough to be applied by all societies, whenever, wherever, or however they exist.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ الْخَامِسَةُ مَعْرِفَةُ النَّاسِ فَهَذَا أَصْلٌ عَظِيمٌ يَحْتَاجُ إلَيْهِ الْمُفْتِي وَالْحَاكِمُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَقِيهًا فِيهِ فَقِيهًا فِي الْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ ثُمَّ يُطَبِّقُ أَحَدَهُمَا عَلَى الْآخَرِ وَإِلَّا كَانَ مَا يَفْسُدُ أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا يَصْلُحُ فَإِنَّهُ إذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ فَقِيهًا فِي الْأَمْرِ لَهُ مَعْرِفَةٌ بِالنَّاسِ تَصَوَّرَ لَهُ الظَّالِمُ بِصُورَةِ الْمَظْلُومِ وَعَكْسُهُ وَالْمُحِقُّ بِصُورَةِ الْمُبْطِلِ وَعَكْسُهُ وَرَاجَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَكْرُ وَالْخِدَاعُ وَالِاحْتِيَالُ وَتَصَوَّرَ لَهُ الزِّنْدِيقُ فِي صُورَةِ الصِّدِّيقِ وَالْكَاذِبُ فِي صُورَةِ الصَّادِقِ وَلَبِسَ كُلُّ مُبْطِلٍ ثَوْبَ زُورٍ تَحْتَهَا الْإِثْمُ وَالْكَذِبُ وَالْفُجُورُ وَهُوَ لِجَهْلِهِ بِالنَّاسِ وَأَحْوَالِهِمْ وَعَوَائِدِهِمْ وَعُرْفِيَّاتِهِمْ لَا يُمَيِّزُ هَذَا مِنْ هَذَا بَلْ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ فَقِيهًا فِي مَعْرِفَةِ مَكْرِ النَّاسِ وَخِدَاعِهِمْ وَاحْتِيَالِهِمْ وَعَوَائِدِهِمْ وَعُرْفِيَّاتِهِمْ فَإِنَّ الْفَتْوَى تَتَغَيَّرُ بِتَغَيُّرِ الزَّمَانِ وَالْمَكَانِ وَالْعَوَائِدِ وَالْأَحْوَالِ وَذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ مِنْ دِينِ اللَّهِ كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ بَيَانُهُ وَبِاَللَّهِ التَّوْفِيقُ
As for knowing the condition of people, this is a tremendous principle required of the scholar and judge. For if he does not have a proper understanding of commanding and forbidding and then he applies one judgment over another, it will cause more harm than benefit. Indeed, if he does not understand the condition of people in the matter, he will make the oppressor appear like the oppressed and vice versa, he will make the truth appear like falsehood and vice versa and he will spread its deceit, treachery, and fraud. He will make heresy appear as righteousness and falsehood appear as truth, and he will dress every lie in a false garment beneath which is sin and wickedness. It is ignorance of the people, their circumstances, their customs, and their traditions for which he cannot distinguish this from that. Rather, the scholar must understand the tendency of people to plot, deceive, and defraud, as well as their customs and traditions. Indeed, the judgment (fatwa) changes with the change of time, place, custom, and circumstance. All of this is from the religion of Allah as has been explained, and success comes from Allah.
Source: I’lām al-Muwaqqi’īn 4/157
On the contrary, it is against Islamic law to disregard changing circumstances.
In modern times, child marriages have been well-documented to have victimized children who were coerced into marriages with adults against their will. Such ‘marriages’ result in severe psychological or physical harm tantamount to sexual abuse, which causes lifelong traumatic injury due to their disrupted sexual development. Islam is innocent of such transgressions, as the legal maxim states that anything truly harmful is necessarily unlawful.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim writes:
فَإِنَّ الشَّرِيعَةَ مَبْنَاهَا وَأَسَاسُهَا عَلَى الْحِكَمِ وَمَصَالِحِ الْعِبَادِ فِي الْمَعَاشِ وَالْمَعَادِ وَهِيَ عَدْلٌ كُلُّهَا وَرَحْمَةٌ كُلُّهَا وَمَصَالِحُ كُلُّهَا وَحِكْمَةٌ كُلُّهَا فَكُلُّ مَسْأَلَةٍ خَرَجَتْ عَنْ الْعَدْلِ إلَى الْجَوْرِ وَعَنْ الرَّحْمَةِ إلَى ضِدِّهَا وَعَنْ الْمَصْلَحَةِ إلَى الْمَفْسَدَةِ وَعَنْ الْحِكْمَةِ إلَى الْبَعْثِ فَلَيْسَتْ مِنْ الشَّرِيعَةِ وَإِنْ أُدْخِلَتْ فِيهَا بِالتَّأْوِيلِ
Verily, the law is founded upon wisdom and welfare for people in this life and the Hereafter. In its entirety, it is justice, mercy, benefit, and wisdom. Every matter that abandons justice for tyranny, mercy for cruelty, benefit for corruption, and wisdom for foolishness is not a part of the law, even if it was introduced therein by an interpretation.
Source: I’lām al-Muwaqqi’īn 3/11
Islamic law has within it the internal mechanisms to prevent such child abuse under the guise of ‘marriage’ from being committed, as is implemented by the vast majority of Muslims today who, by necessity and in accordance with the objectives of the law (maqasid), have set the marriageable age higher than it was in the past.
In sum, the classical jurists of premodern societies permitted the contraction of marriage between children and its consummation upon physical readiness, with the marriageable age determined by social custom rather than divine revelation. It is entirely understandable that modern readers may be troubled by this legal discourse. Yet Islamic law is not static—it provides objectives and principles that adapt to new contexts, safeguard the vulnerable, and uphold justice for all. What was permissible in the past under specific circumstances may be prohibited today—and this is not a departure from Islam, but a reflection of its enduring moral purpose.
Accordingly, most Muslim countries have raised the legal age of marriage to approximately 18 years, in line with Islamic legal principles and in the best interests of contemporary societies.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
