Does Islam Allow Underage Marriage?

06 Feb, 2023 Allegations on Prophet Muhammad 3

Table of Contents

Introduction

A simple question for those who have a problem with the historic religious figures who married young: what number do you believe is underage? Why do you believe this?

Any attempt to pin down a single universal number as a minimum age for marriage is baseless. This is why we see a variance in the age of sexual consent in countries right next to each other. In Europe, the age of consent is fourteen years old in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Estonia. This number is illegal in some of their neighboring countries based on their own feelings on morality.

Nature’s Verdict

The minimum age of marriage that Islam teaches is based in nature. According to Islam, after a person reaches puberty and can be sexually active and healthy, that is when they can get married and get divorced. This is not new. It is based in universal nature, and Islam is the religion of nature. The Holy Quran says,

“And follow the nature made by Allah — the nature in which He has created mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah. That is the right religion.”
[Quran 30:31]

This principle is so based in common sense that anyone who defies it, they defy nature and common sense. Since there is no set number in nature as an age of marriage, there is no set number in Islam.

Irrational Western Laws

So, a simple question for those who claim Islam teaches underage marriage: what number do you believe is underage? Why do you believe this? Your vague feelings on morality become more visibly baseless when they are used to try and define age differentiation.

In the United States, some states believe teenagers are mature enough to give sexual consent, but only if their partner is two years older than them. If their partner is three years older, they are being raped.¹

Other places in the United States believe four years older is fine, but at five years older they are now being raped.

Some places in the United States believe a fourteen year old is mature enough to be with someone only if they are up to four years older, whereas a fifteen year old is now mature enough to be with someone nine years older.

Some places believe a seventeen year old can give consent to someone twenty-nine years older, but if they are with someone thirty years older, they are being raped.

At all of these ages, society believes a woman is mature enough to make a decision on whether to abort her fetus or keep her baby. However, society does not believe that the same woman is mature enough to decide to be with someone older than her. These random moral judgements are all decided on a baseless concept of morality.

This does not mean that Islam allows defiance of the laws of one’s country. In fact, the Holy Quran repeatedly instructs Muslims to act according to Ma’rūf, which is any action commonly known as good by reason and by the law.² If a country deems it illegal to marry at a certain age or at a certain age differentiation, the Muslims of that country are obliged to adhere to those laws. If the norms of a certain culture frown on early marriage, Muslims adhere to the norms of that culture.

However, the norms of a particular culture can never be a universal law on morality. It is Islam that has given universal teachings that can consistently be applied in every era and in every society. Islam is consistent because it is based in nature. In fact, the only morality that has any basis is a teaching based in nature and reality.

The Reality

What is that reality? Human nature is that people will start to become sexually active whenever it’s physically healthy for them to do so. This is clear even in countries that are not influenced by the teachings of Islam.

18.4% of women in Denmark have their first sexual intercourse at the age of fourteen or younger. 12.9% of women in Norway and 17.8% of women in Sweden have their first sexual intercourse at the age of fourteen or younger.³ In the United States, the number is 20% of women at the age fourteen or younger.⁴ 5% of sixth graders are having sex, and some schools are giving them condoms.⁵

The ground reality is that people become sexually active in their teenage years, with or without marriage. Islam has taught marriage, but as a direct result of premarital sex, women disproportionately suffer because they are naturally more vulnerable than men to STDs.

What is Islam’s solution? Islam addresses this reality with an institution of marriage where parents are involved. Islam has restricted men by only allowing sexual contact if they commit, through the woman’s consent, to the emotional and financial support of marriage. Women have every right to choose a mate and cannot be forced by anyone to consent.⁶ Islam has also protected women by giving them the right to divorce at any time and for any reason.⁷

Conclusion

Coming back to the question for those who claim Islam teaches underage marriage: what number do you believe is underage? Why do you believe this?

Islam is the universal religion. It has taught a simple principle that applies across cultures and across time. Nature and reality have not changed, and what is moral does not change based on a few people’s feelings. Whenever nature says that someone can be sexually active and healthy, that is when they can choose to get married or get divorced.

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