Marriage of a Virgin Girl
Marriage of a Virgin Girl is generally contingent upon the permission of the girl's guardian (walī). According to al-Shaykh al-Saduq and the majority of jurists, a virgin girl must obtain consent from her father—or, in his absence, her paternal grandfather—before entering into either a temporary marriage or a permanent marriage. Conversely, certain prominent jurists, including al-Shaykh al-Mufid and Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, argue that a guardian's permission is not a prerequisite for the marriage of a pubescent girl.
In Shi'a jurisprudence, it is widely held that if a girl's father and paternal grandfather are deceased or absent, she is not required to seek permission from any other relative. Furthermore, a consensus among several jurists dictates that if a socially and morally compatible match (kufw) is found for a virgin girl, the requirement for her guardian's permission may be waived.
Perspectives
The marriage of a virgin (maiden) is a critical jurisprudential topic extensively analyzed in both traditions and classical legal treatises.[1] Textual traditions are divided; some substantiate the necessity of paternal permission, while others seemingly oppose it.[2] Consequently, Shi'a jurisprudential literature presents diverse opinions regarding whether a virgin girl requires the consent of a guardian to marry, with some jurists requiring it, others holding the girl independent, and a third group requiring simultaneous consent of both.
- According to sources, a group of jurists—including al-Shaykh al-Saduq, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, al-Allama al-Bahrani, and many jurists of the 15th/21th century—have considered the guardian's permission necessary for both permanent and temporary marriage of a virgin girl.[3]
- In contrast, some jurists—such as al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Sayyid al-Murtada, al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli, and Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi,—hold that a pubescent virgin girl is independent in making decisions regarding marriage,[4] and interpret the hadiths indicating the necessity of the father's permission as being recommended.[5] It has been said that this view was more widespread in a certain period of Shi'a legal history.[6]
- According to some sources, another group of jurists—including al-Shaykh al-Ansari and Imam Khomeini—have considered the simultaneous consent of both the girl and her guardian as a condition for the validity of the marriage;[7] a view known in jurisprudential sources as "tashrik" (partnership or joint consent).[8] A subset of scholars further differentiates the rulings between temporary and permanent marriages.[9]
Abu l-Qasim Alidust, a professor of advanced jurisprudential studies at the Islamic Seminary of Qom, identifies seven distinct fatwas (religious edicts) concerning this issue. These include: the authority of a mature (rashida) girl; the authority of the guardian; the requirement for simultaneous consent of both the girl and the guardian; the sufficiency of the decision of either one of them; the authority of the girl in temporary marriage; the authority of the girl in permanent marriage; and a theory that considers the decision of both parties as valid, but grants the father—not the paternal grandfather—the right to annul a marriage contracted by the daughter.[10]
No Need for Permission
Shi'a jurists unanimously agree that a woman who was previously married and lost her virginity through sexual intercourse, or a girl whose father and paternal grandfather are deceased, is exempt from needing the permission of a guardian.[11] Furthermore, if a girl intends to marry a suitor who is legally, morally, and socially compatible (kufw), and her father opposes the union without a valid, rational justification, all Shi'a jurists agree that his permission is no longer required.[12] Additionally, certain scholars argue that the marriage of a "mature" (rashida) virgin girl without her father's consent is fundamentally permissible.[13] A prominent group of scholars, including 'Allama Tabataba'i, defines a rashida as an individual who, upon reaching puberty, demonstrates the capacity to recognize her own best interests, exhibiting maturity, intellectual soundness, and social awareness.[14]
Philosophy of the Father's Permission
According to the prominent scholar Murtada Mutahhari, the jurisprudential requirement for a father's permission is rooted in psychological and social considerations. He argues that women generally possess profound emotional and affectionate capacities, making them potentially more susceptible to expressions of love, whereas men are often driven more by physical desires. Consequently, a young woman might be easily swayed by a suitor's displays of affection, potentially overlooking the pragmatic or rational aspects of marriage. Furthermore, because young women historically had less unmediated exposure to broader society compared to men, they may possess less practical experience in evaluating a suitor's true character. Therefore, many scholars maintain that consultation and the acquisition of the father's permission serve as vital protective measures to safeguard a virgin girl's long-term interests.[15]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 175; Ṣadūq, al-Hidāya, p. 260; al-Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, vol. 7, p. 120; Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 111.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 5, p. 111; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 5, p. 119.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Hidāya, p. 260; Ṭūsī, al-Khilāf, vol. 4, p. 253; al-Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 23, pp. 212-214; Risāla-yi touḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 2, p. 590.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 175; Mufīd, Aḥkām al-nisāʾ, p. 36; al-Sayyid al-Murtaḍā, Rasāʾil al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, vol. 1, p. 235; al-Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 509.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 175; Mufīd, Aḥkām al-nisāʾ, p. 36; al-Sayyid al-Murtaḍā, Rasāʾil al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, vol. 1, p. 235; al-Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 2, p. 509.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 29, p. 175.
- ↑ Shaykh al-Anṣārī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, pp. 125-126; Mūsawī Khumeynī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 254.
- ↑ al-Shaykh al-Anṣārī, Kitāb al-nikāḥ, pp. 125-126; Mūsawī Khumaynī, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 2, p. 254.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, Tahdhīb al-aḥkām, p. 440.
- ↑ ʿAlīdūst, Luzūm yā ʿadam-i luzūm-i idhn yā ijāzih-yi walī dar ṣiḥḥat-i izdiwāj-i dūshīzih-yi bāligh-i rashīd, pp. 4-6.
- ↑ Risālih-yi touḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 2, p. 590.
- ↑ Risāla-yi touḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, vol. 2, p. 590.
- ↑ Rūḥānī, Istiftāʾāt, p. 56.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 274; Rūḥānī, Istiftāʾāt, p. 56; Imāmīfar, Barrasī-yi fiqhī ijtimāʿī-yi idhn-i pidar dar izdiwāj-i dukhtar, p. 94.
- ↑ Muṭahharī, Majmūʿih-yi āthār-i Muṭahharī, 1381 Sh, vol. 19, p. 92.
References
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- Baḥrānī, Yūsuf al-. al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira. Qom: Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1406 AH.
- Banīhāshimī Khumaynī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥasan. Touḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī Jāmiʿih-yi Mudarrisīn-i Ḥawzih-yi ʿIlmiyya-yi Qom, 1392 Sh.
- Imāmīfar, ʿAlī. "Barrasī-yi fiqhī ijtimāʿī-yi idhn-i pidar dar izdiwāj-i dukhtar." Faṣlnāmih-yi ʿulūm-i islāmī. Saveh Azad University, Spring 1386 Sh.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. al-Kāfī. Tehran: Markaz-i Intishārāt-i ʿIlmī Farhangī, 1363 Sh.
- Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, al-, Abū l-Qāsim Najm al-Dīn. Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Tehran: Istiqlāl, 1409 AH.
- Murtaḍā, al-, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Rasāʾil al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā. Qom: Dār al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1405 AH.
- Mūsawī Khumaynī, Rūḥullāh. Taḥrīr al-wasīla. Qom: Muʾassasa-yi Nashr wa Tanẓīm-i Āthār-i Imām Khumaynī, n.d.
- Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Majmūʿih-yi āthār-i Muṭahharī. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1381 Sh.
- Mufīd, al-, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. Aḥkām al-nisāʾ. Qom: Muʾtamar al-ʿĀlamiyya al-Alfiyya li-sh-Shaykh al-Mufīd, n.d.
- Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-islām. Tehran: Maktabat al-Islāmiyya, 1395 AH.
- Ṣadūq, al-, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Translated by Ghaffari. Tehran: Nashr-i Ṣadūq, 1367 Sh.
- Shahīd al-Thānī, al-, Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī. Masālik al-afhām. Qom: Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 1413 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: 1362 Sh.
- Ṭūsī, al-, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. al-Khilāf. Qom: Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭūsī, al-, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. Tahdhīb al-aḥkām. Edited by Ghaffari. Tehran: Ṣadūq, 1417 AH.