Laws that Limit the Age of Marriage
Many religious Muslims living in Eastern countries oppose any laws passed by
governments that regulate the age of marriage. Some Westerners wrongfully interpret
this to mean that these Muslims advocate child marriages. Yet, we Muslims recognize
that some girls are too young to consummate marriage; however, we are simply against
the government being the one to decide that. We believe that it is the girl’s legal
guardian—usually the father—who should be given that right.
An analogy can be made to Americans who are strong supporters of state’s rights. They
may, for example, believe that the federal government has no right to collect taxes. This
does not mean that they are against taxes. Rather, these people are against the federal
government collecting those taxes. They believe that this is not a right to be relegated to
the federal government; it is instead the right of the state government to collect taxes.
Likewise, Muslims recognize that some girls should be forbidden from consummating
marriage on account of their young age; however, this decision should rest with the
father, and not the government. This is based on the idea that a father knows his daughter
the best (more so than the government), and traditionally, nobody cares for a daughter’s
well-being more than the father.
Another example that can be cited is that of secularists who believe that adultery should
not be a crime according to the law of the land; this does not mean that they advocate or
encourage adultery. Rather, they believe it is up to the individual—not the government—
to regulate what goes on in the bedroom. To cite another example, the government
usually does not dictate at what age a child can start swimming. This does not mean that
we throw infants into the water. Rather, it merely means that the right to decide this rests
with the parents. One set of parents might decide that their child is not ready to swim
until he is at least ten years old, whereas another set of parents might decide that their
four year old is ready to swim. This decision is based on the parents’ understanding of
the child’s individual abilities and needs, something that the government cannot
realistically be cognizant of. Again, the issue is simply of relegating responsibility; the
Islamic law tends to gives many rights to the parent. The Islamic Law does not set a
minimum age limit to be enforced by the Islamic state; rather, the right to set a minimum
age is given to the father.
I am reminded of an incident in which an Islamic scholar defended the Islamic legal
position that the government has no right to set a minimum age for marriage; an angry
layperson accused the scholar of hypocrisy since he would not ever marry his own
daughter at a young age. Yet, what this layperson didn’t realize was that every father has
the right to decide at which age his daughter is ready for marriage. Everyone agrees that
not all girls are old enough to consummate marriage; this is not the issue! The issue is
merely about who gets to decide this. The Western societies say the government,
whereas the Islamic law says the girl’s legal guardian. that is why even in those Muslim
countries without a legal age limit on marriage, you will find that it is virtually unheard
of for a father to marry his daughter off at an extremely young age. In fact, we ask the
critics of Islam to ask themselves if they personally know of any Muslims who have
married their daughters off at an incredibly young age; indeed, the average age for
marriage amongst Muslim girls is in the twenties. This is therefore really a non-issue. It
is a theological debate and nothing more, with no practical real application. Regardless
of the pedagogic debates that Islamic scholars will have, Muslim fathers will not be
marrying their daughters off at a young age.
In conclusion, the Islamic state would set no legal age for marriage. Rather, this is an
issue to be decided by the legal guardian.للمزيد من مواضيعي
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28.06.2013, 23:39
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