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Child Marriage or Marriage of Minors refers to marriages under the age of 18 in international terminology; however, in Shi'a jurisprudence, no specific age is determined for marriage, and its rulings are explained based on religious puberty. Shi'a jurists consider child marriage conditional upon the permission of the guardian and the observance of interest or at least the absence of corruption. They differ regarding the scope of guardianship and the establishment of the right to cancel the marriage after puberty with some considering guardianship exclusive to the father and paternal grandfather, while others consider the religious ruler, the executor of the father, and even the mother to have this authority under certain conditions.

According to the fatwa of Shi'a jurists, sexual intercourse with a pre-pubescent girl is forbidden, but other sexual enjoyments are permitted. If intercourse occurs, permanent prohibition is established between the couple. Nevertheless, the payment of alimony remains the husband's responsibility, and if this act leads to rupture, the husband is obligated to pay blood money.

Considering the change in social conditions, some jurists consider child marriage to be generally devoid of interest and count it among the New Jurisprudential issues.

Definition and Significance

According to international definitions, child marriage refers to marriages under the age of 18;[1] however, in Shi'a jurisprudence, a specific age has not been determined for marriage, and specific rulings have been considered for the marriage of prepubescent children merely by referring to the time of puberty.[2] Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a Shi'a jurist, considers marriage permissible only with the existence of three conditions: religious puberty, physical growth, and sufficient mental growth.[3] Although the discussion of child marriage has a history in Shi'a jurisprudence,[4] some researchers, considering the change in the conditions of a subject in time and place or the change of criteria in Shari'a rulings, count it among the new jurisprudential issues.[5]

According to jurists, child marriage is a social problem that usually takes place without the full consent of girls. Its negative consequences include health problems, deprivation of education, and limitations in job opportunities.[6]

Conditions of Child Marriage

According to Shi'a jurisprudence, the marriage of prepubescent children is permissible only with the permission of the guardian and in the absence of corruption or the existence of interest.[7]

Guardian's Permission

Shi'a jurists explicitly state that the father is the guardian of the child in marriage, but there is a difference of opinion regarding other individuals or the order of priority of each.[8] Some of the opinions are as follows:

  • Al-Shahid al-Thani in the book Sharh al-lum'a considers the child's guardian to be only the father or paternal grandfather.[9]
  • Musa Shubayri Zanjani, citing narrations, introduces the father, grandfather, ruler , and the father's executor as the guardian and authority for the child's marriage.[10]
  • Yusuf Sane'i considers the guardianship of the mother and the Islamic ruler to be valid in addition to the father. He believes that in the absence of the father, the mother's guardianship takes precedence over the paternal grandfather's guardianship, and in the absence of both, this authority is delegated to the religious ruler.[11]

Existence of Interest or Absence of Corruption?

According to some researchers, jurists have different opinions regarding the condition of the existence of interest or the absence of corruption in child marriage:

Rulings of Child Marriage

Marital Relations of Child Spouses

All Shi'a jurists explicitly state that sexual intercourse by the husband with a girl who has not reached the age of puberty is forbidden, but they have considered other sexual enjoyments between child spouses to be permissible/valid.[15] Jurists believe that in the case of rupture, the husband is liable for blood money.[16] Also, this act causes permanent prohibition of marriage, but the husband must pay her alimony.[17] Some also believe in the invalidity of the marriage in addition to permanent prohibition.[18]

Right of Cancellation after Puberty

According to some jurists, a girl who has been married off by her guardian does not have the right to cancel the marriage after puberty.[19] Some researchers have pointed out that a group of jurists such as al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Ibn Idris al-Hilli consider the right of cancellation only for boys.[20] In contrast, jurists such as Yusuf Saanei believe that the right of cancellation after puberty also exists for girls; therefore, the child can accept or cancel the contract after reaching puberty.[21] Nasir Makarim Shirazi also believes that in the present age, the marriage of a minor usually does not have any interest, and except in exceptional cases, such a contract is void, and the person can marry after puberty without the need for cancellation or divorce.[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Dānishpūr et al., "Barrasī-yi maṣlaḥat dar izdiwāj-i wilāyī-yi kūdak dar ḥuqūq-i Īrān", p. 44; Talakābādī, "Bāzshināsī-yi adilla-yi Qurʾānī-yi jawāz-i kūdak-hamsarī dar fiqh-i Shīʿa", p. 8.
  2. ↑ Ismāʿīlī et al., "Mustanad-shināsī-yi naẓariyya-yi buṭlān-i kūdak-hamsarī muṭābiq bā fatwā-yi Āyatullāh Makārim Shīrāzī", p. 53.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, "Izdiwāj-i kūdak", Pāygāh-i Iṭṭilāʿ-risānī-yi Āyatullāh Makārim Shīrāzī.
  4. ↑ See: Ḥalabī (Ibn Zuhra), Ghunyat al-nuzūʿ, 1417 AH, p. 342; Ṭūsī, Al-Nihāya, 1400 AH, p. 464.
  5. ↑ Ismāʿīlī et al., "Mustanad-shināsī-yi naẓariyya-yi buṭlān-i kūdak-hamsarī muṭābiq bā fatwā-yi Āyatullāh Makārim Shīrāzī", pp. 62–64.
  6. ↑ Kūdak-hamsarī az manẓar-i qawāʿid-i ḥuqūq-i basharī, p. 4.
  7. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, 1409 AH, vol. 20, pp. 275, 289; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1412 AH, vol. 5, p. 395, hadith 1.
  8. ↑ Ṣāniʿī, "Bulūgh-i dukhtar wa pisar - izdiwāj-i ṣighār", Pāygāh-i Iṭṭilāʿ-risānī-yi Daftar-i Āyatullāh Ṣāniʿī; Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya fī sharḥ al-lumʿa al-dimashqiyya, vol. 5, pp. 116, 118, 151; Shubayrī & Sanāyī, "Wilāyat-i mādar bar nikāḥ-i farzand", pp. 16, 19.
  9. ↑ Al-Rawḍa al-bahiyya fī sharḥ al-lumʿa al-dimashqiyya, vol. 5, pp. 116, 118, 151.
  10. ↑ Shubayrī & Sanāyī, "Wilāyat-i mādar bar nikāḥ-i farzand", pp. 16, 19.
  11. ↑ Ṣāniʿī, "Bulūgh-i dukhtar wa pisar - izdiwāj-i ṣighār", Pāygāh-i Iṭṭilāʿ-risānī-yi Daftar-i Āyatullāh Ṣāniʿī.
  12. ↑ Ādharī & Mīraḥmadī, "Rūykardhā-yi qaḍāʾī bi tashkhīṣ-i maṣlaḥat dar izdiwāj-i kūdakān", p. 6.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī al-Ḥakīm, Mustamsak al-ʿurwa, 1416 AH, vol. 14, pp. 455–456.
  14. ↑ Ādharī & Mīraḥmadī, "Rūykardhā-yi qaḍāʾī bi tashkhīṣ-i maṣlaḥat dar izdiwāj-i kūdakān", p. 6.
  15. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1414 AH, vol. 29, p. 414; Ḥusaynī-far & Zargūsh-nasab, "Kāvushī naw dar adilla-yi fiqhī-yi ifḍā-yi ṣaghīra", p. 234.
  16. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1414 AH, vol. 29, pp. 416–428; Ḥusaynī-far & Zargūsh-nasab, "Kāvushī naw dar adilla-yi fiqhī-yi ifḍā-yi ṣaghīra", pp. 241–246.
  17. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1414 AH, vol. 29, pp. 416–428.
  18. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1414 AH, vol. 29, pp. 416–428.
  19. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 216; Baḥrānī, Al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 23, p. 204; Rūḥānī, Fiqh al-Ṣādiq, vol. 31, pp. 196–200; Ḥalabī (Ibn Zuhra), Ghunyat al-nuzūʿ, 1417 AH, vol. 1, p. 342.
  20. ↑ Munẓamī & Muwaḥḥidī-muḥibb, "Shināsāʾī-yi ḥaqq-i faskh-i nikāḥ-i kūdak, pas az bulūgh, dar partow-i mukhaṣṣiṣ-i lubbī", p. 127; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 216.
  21. ↑ Ṣāniʿī, "Bulūgh-i dukhtar wa pisar - izdiwāj-i ṣighār", Pāygāh-i Iṭṭilāʿ-risānī-yi Daftar-i Āyatullāh Ṣāniʿī.
  22. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, "Wilāyat bar ṣaghīra", Pāygāh-i Iṭṭilāʿ-risānī-yi Daftar-i Āyatullāh Makārim.

References

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