Child Marriages in Islam

Islam has no place for predatorial behaviour; neither does it advocate or promote the harm inflicted towards children.

This page sets out the ruling on a father’s marriage contract for a daughter who has not yet reached puberty, from the books it rests on: Shaykh Ibn Baz’s answers in Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women; Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen’s The Book of Marriage and his Al-Qawa’id al-Muthla; Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan’s Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women; and, for the verses, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) and Tafsir as-Sa’di.

This is a clarification of the issue of child marriages in Islam, based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, set out from the books named in the References at the end.

It is also a response to those who speak about this matter without knowledge and misrepresent its rulings.

Allah says:

“The only response of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them, is to say: We hear and we obey. It is they who will be the successful ones.”

(Qur’an 24:51)

Understanding the Topic

Before going into the evidences, there is an important point that must be understood clearly:

A marriage contract is not the same as consummation.

• A contract may happen earlier.
• Consummation is connected to ability, maturity, and absence of harm.

This distinction is essential, and much confusion around this topic comes from not separating these two.

Qur’an Evidence

Allah says:

“Those in menopause among your women, for them the ‘Iddah, if you have doubt, is three months; and for those who have no courses. And for those who are pregnant, their ‘Iddah is until they lay down their burden; and whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will make his matter easy for him.”

(Qur’an 65:4)

Explanation

Ibn Kathir explains:

“The same for the young, who have not reached the years of menstruation. Their ‘iddah is three months like those in menopause.”

(Tafsir Ibn Kathir 65:4)

From this, it is understood that the waiting period of those who have not yet menstruated is mentioned in the legislation.

So the point here is that the concept of a young girl who has not yet reached puberty is already addressed within the rulings.

The Prophet’s ﷺ Precedent and the Position of the Scholars

The foundation of this ruling is the practice of the Prophet ﷺ himself. Shaykh Ibn Baz, in his answer on the appropriate age for marriage, states the precedent as it is recorded: the Prophet ﷺ married ‘Aishah when she was six or seven years old, and the marriage was consummated when she was nine. The contract and the consummation were years apart, and the contract was concluded by her father, Abu Bakr.

Shaykh Ibn Baz states the rule in his own words, in Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women:

The father must seek her permission if she is nine years of age or above. Similarly, her other guardians may not marry her off except by her permission. This is obligatory upon all of them. If one is married without permission, then the marriage is not valid. This is because one of the conditions of the marriage is that both partners accept the marriage. If she is married without her permission, by threat or coercion, then the marriage is not valid. The only exception is in the case of the father and his daughter who is less than nine years of age. There is no harm if he gets her married while she is less than nine years old, according to the correct opinion. This is based on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ marrying Aisha without her consent when she was less than nine years old, as is stated in authentic Hadith. However, if she is nine years old or more, she cannot be married, even by her father, except with her consent.

In the same answer he adds that a husband should not approach a wife who does not want him, and he advises the young lady to accept the suitable man her father chooses for her when he is good in his religion and character.

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, in his explanation of Bulugh al-Maram, discusses the narration that an orphan girl must be consulted about her marriage, and explains who the orphan meant there is:

The orphan is the one whose father died before the age of puberty. However, what is meant by the orphan here? Is she the one who is really an orphan or the who has not married and she reached puberty recently? It is the latter one because the one who has not reached puberty must not be married by any guardian. Why? Because her permission is not considered according to many scholars. Although, some scholars say, “Permission is considered from the ninth year”, most of the scholars disagree.

So, the orphan is the one who has recently reached puberty and her permission is legally considered. Before puberty, her permission is not considered as she knows nothing about marriage matters. Anyway, all these ahadiths indicate that the wife must be asked for permission regarding her marriage.

So the position carried by these books is stated as it stands in them: the Prophet’s ﷺ precedent, the fatwa built upon it, and the view of many scholars that a young girl’s own permission is not the operative condition of her father’s contract for her.

The Scholars’ Consensus on This Ruling

Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan sets out this ruling in his book Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, in his chapter on marriage and divorce, where he takes up the question of taking a woman’s opinion about her marriage. Of the virgin who is below the age of puberty, he writes:

As for the virgin under the age of puberty, there is no disagreement between the scholars that her father can marry her to someone without her consent - as consent in her case is not conceivable. This is because Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, may Allah be pleased with him gave his daughter ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her in marriage when she was six years old, and the marriage was consummated when she was nine years old. Agreed upon.

He then records what the scholars said about this hadeeth. He writes: “Imaam Shawkaani stated in Nayl al-Awtaar [6/128-129]:”

This hadeeth is a proof that it is permissible for the father to marry his daughter to somebody before puberty.

“He also stated:”

In this there is a proof that it is allowable for a girl under the age of puberty to marry an adult. Imaam Bukhaari devoted a chapter to this and mentioned the hadeeth of ‘Aisha, and stated in al-Fath the consensus of the scholars on this point.

And he quotes the consensus of Ibn al-Mundhir, as it is recorded in al-Mughni [6/487]:

Ibn al-Mundhir says, ‘There is a consensus among the People of Knowledge from whom knowledge is taken, that it is permissible for the father to marry his daughter who has not attained the age of puberty to someone who is suitable.’

Al-Fawzan then closes in his own words:

I say: In the marriage of ‘A’isha by Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with both of them when she was six years old to the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him is the strongest rebuttal to those who condemn the marriage of a young, pre-pubescent girl to an adult man and revile it, and consider it an evil. This is due entirely to their ignorance or because they intend to cause mischief.

Ash-Shawkaani’s Nayl al-Awtaar, al-Fath, and Ibn al-Mundhir’s statement in al-Mughni are quoted here as Shaykh al-Fawzan records them in his book, which is in this site’s library; the statements above are his quotations of them, given in his words.

The Authority of Consensus

The Messenger of Allah said:

“Verily, my nation will not unite upon misguidance.”

(Related by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar; authenticated by al-Albani in Mishkat al-Masabih, no. 173, as recorded in al-Qawa’id al-Muthla, printed p. 171, where the translation’s “guidance” is a misprint against its own Arabic.)

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen writes in al-Qawa’id al-Muthla that the consensus of the righteous salaf on an issue is a binding proof, and that “it is the consensus of all the Muslims that protects us from error, not just the agreement of the majority of them.” Consensus, where it is established, is therefore not a matter a believer may set aside.

Ruling on Opposing Consensus

Allah says:

“But whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him, and follows a path other than that of the believers, We will leave him to that which he himself has chosen and cast him into hell – an evil journey’s end.”

(Qur’an 4:115)

The verse joins the two together: opposing the Messenger ﷺ, and departing from the path of the believers. Neither is a small matter.

Forced Marriages Clarified

Below Puberty

Here, it is important to remember that we are speaking about a contract, not consummation.

The contract concluded by a father for his young daughter is the case addressed by the Prophet’s ﷺ precedent and by Shaykh Ibn Baz’s fatwa above: it is valid and permissible, and Shaykh Ibn Baz stated of the father’s case that there is no harm in it.

Above Puberty

Once a person reaches maturity, the ruling changes.

Consent becomes required.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“A woman without a husband (or divorced or a widow) must not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin must not be married until her permission is sought.”

(Al-Bukhari (5136), Muslim (1419))

Parents do not have the right to force their child to marry someone they do not want. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains, in his discussion of the narration that follows, that the father must ask his virgin daughter’s permission, and that if he had the right to force her, the Prophet ﷺ would not have given her the choice; he calls marrying her off against her will unfair and oppressive. Shaykh Ibn Baz likewise ruled that neither the father nor another guardian may force a woman whose permission is required, that her permission must be sought from nine years of age, and that a marriage concluded without it is not valid.

Further Evidence on Consent

There are clear narrations showing that a marriage done without consent is not upheld.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“A virgin female came to the Prophet and mentioned that her father had married her against her will. The Prophet allowed her to exercise her choice.”

(Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah; Ahmad, Al-Musnad (1/273); Abu Dawud (2069); Ibn Majah (1875))

The Book of Marriage flags this narration as defective in its Mursal form, and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains in the same chapter (printed p. 207) that the weakness is ineffective because of the supporting narrations, including what is in al-Bukhari and Muslim.

This shows that when a woman is mature, her consent is required, and a marriage done against her will is not binding upon her.

Is This a Contradiction?

At first glance, it may seem like there is a contradiction, but there is not.

The requirement of consent applies to those whose permission is considered. As for the girl who has not reached puberty, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen explains in The Book of Marriage that her permission is not considered according to many scholars, which is why her father’s contract for her stands on a different footing from the marriage of a mature woman.

So each ruling is applied in its proper context.

Conditions on Who They Marry

The spouse should be:

• Suitable for her
• Righteous

This condition exists to prevent harm, not to allow it. In his discussion of ash-Shighar in The Book of Marriage, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen states it in his own words:

Moreover, each one should be suitable to the woman, this must be a third condition. If he is unsuitable, the marriage will be unlawful.

Living Arrangements & Protection from Harm

The separation between the contract and the consummation is seen in the precedent itself: the Prophet’s ﷺ contract with ‘Aishah was concluded when she was six or seven years old, and the consummation took place when she was nine, as Shaykh Ibn Baz records in his answer on the appropriate age for marriage. The contract did not mean she was taken into his home at the time it was concluded.

So even after a contract, protection from harm remains a core principle.

Key Lessons

When everything is put together, the picture becomes clear:

• A marriage contract is not the same as consummation, and in the Prophet’s ﷺ own precedent the two were years apart.
• Consent is required from the one whose permission is considered; a mature woman may not be forced, and a marriage done against her will is not upheld.
• The contract of a father for his young daughter rests on the Prophet’s ﷺ precedent and the position of the scholars who carried it, stated in their own terms.
• Harm is not allowed, and the conditions around the match and the timing exist as safeguards.

So this issue is not left open without conditions, but rather regulated with clear boundaries and safeguards.

References

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), English translation, all 10 volumes: Surah At-Talaq 65:4, compilation PDF p. 5210, and its explanation, compilation PDF p. 5211.

Tafsir as-Sa’di, by Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab, edited by Huda Khattab: Vol. 2 (Juz’ 4-6), on Surah An-Nisa 4:115, printed p. 278; Vol. 6 (Juz’ 16-18), on Surah An-Noor 24:51, printed p. 427.

The Book of Marriage, from the Explanation of Bulugh al-Maram, by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Maktabatulirshad Publications USA, First Edition, February 2017, trans. Mustafa Lamei ‘Abdul Hakim al-Misri: Hadith 985, printed p. 182; the consent discussion, printed pp. 189-190, including the explanation of the orphan narration, printed p. 190; the ruling of ash-Shighar, printed p. 200; Hadith 989 and its explanation, printed pp. 206-210.

Islamic Fatawa Regarding Women, Darussalam, First Edition 1996, compiled by Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz al-Musnad, trans. Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo: Q155, printed p. 165; Q157, printed pp. 167-168.

Al-Qawa’id al-Muthla (The Exemplary Principles), by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, TROID: The authority of consensus and the consensus hadith, printed pp. 171-172.

Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, by Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Darussalam, Second Edition, June 2003, ISBN 9960-347-29-5, trans. Burhan Loqueman: Marriage and Divorce chapter, “Taking the opinion of a woman about her marriage”, printed pp. 111-112: the virgin below puberty and the absence of disagreement, the six and nine account marked “Agreed upon”, ash-Shawkaani in Nayl al-Awtaar, the consensus stated in al-Fath, Ibn al-Mundhir in al-Mughni, and al-Fawzan’s closing statement, all as quoted in his book.

Rulings prints the divine name as “Allaah”; on this page it is spelled “Allah”, by the site’s spelling decision.

Further Reading

• Refuting the Claim that Aisha Was 18 or 19: the claim that she was 18 or 19, answered from the narrations
• The Conditions of a Valid Marriage (Nikah): the contract’s conditions and the consent typology this page’s first case belongs to
• Does Islam Allow Forced Marriage?: consent and the ruling on forcing a woman
• The Purpose of Marriage in Islam: why marriage exists and what it is for

Verified on 2026-10-26 against the books listed above.