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|title=Forced Marriage | |||
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'''Forced marriage''' is the compelled marriage of an individual (usually female) against their will. The individual is usually forced by family members and in countries with primitive women's rights. | '''Forced marriage''' is the compelled marriage of an individual (usually female) against their will. The individual is usually forced by family members and in countries with primitive women's rights. In Islamic law, forcing a female who had reached the age of puberty into a marriage contract with someone against her explicit wishes was forbidden by the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of jurisprudence, though a father was permitted to do so by the Maliki and Shafi'i schools if his daughter was still a virgin. They all agreed that virgin minors could be entered into marriage contracts by their fathers by compulsion, despite hadith evidence requiring a female virgin's consent (or at least a lack of protest). Reports of Muhammad's marriage to Aisha and of his companions marrying off their minor daughters played a role in some jurist opinions. Jurists also agreed that [[Slavery in Islamic Law#In_Islamic_law|female slaves]] could be married off to someone by their owners without their consent. | ||
Most (but not all) modern Muslim majority countries have made child marriage and forced marriage illegal. Nevertheless, such marriages still occur to a significant extent despite legal protections (and also occur in some non-Muslim communities). Many Muslim charities and campaign groups are working to prevent contemporary cases of forced marriage and to help those who seek their help.<ref>For example [https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php Muslim Women's Network UK] and [https://preventforcedmarriage.org/forced-marriage-overseas-pakistan/ Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative]</ref> There are also government agencies who can and should be contacted when someone is at risk of forced marriage. Some charities advise those who realise too late that they are being taken overseas for a forced marriage to hide a spoon underneath their clothing so that when passing through the airport metal detector there will be an opportunity to explain the situation privately to the security team. Contacting the relevant national embassy is usually advised if already abroad. | Most (but not all) modern Muslim majority countries have made [[Child Marriage in Islamic Law|child marriage]] and forced marriage illegal. Nevertheless, such marriages still occur to a significant extent despite legal protections (and also occur in some non-Muslim communities). Many Muslim charities and campaign groups are working to prevent contemporary cases of forced marriage and to help those who seek their help.<ref>For example [https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php Muslim Women's Network UK] and [https://preventforcedmarriage.org/forced-marriage-overseas-pakistan/ Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative]</ref> There are also government agencies who can and should be contacted when someone is at risk of forced marriage. Some charities advise those who realise too late that they are being taken overseas for a forced marriage to hide a spoon underneath their clothing so that when passing through the airport metal detector there will be an opportunity to explain the situation privately to the security team. Contacting the relevant national embassy is usually advised if already abroad. | ||
==Child marriage== | ==Child marriage== | ||
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Baugh discusses these and similar reports. Jurists claimed that Khidam's daughter was not a virgin but had been previously married, and this was the reason why Muhammad allowed her request, though Baugh argues that the jurists' assumption about her is questionable.<ref>Carolyn Baugh,''Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law'', pp. 65-66, 84-85</ref> | Baugh discusses these and similar reports. Jurists claimed that Khidam's daughter was not a virgin but had been previously married, and this was the reason why Muhammad allowed her request, though Baugh argues that the jurists' assumption about her is questionable.<ref>Carolyn Baugh,''Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law'', pp. 65-66, 84-85</ref> | ||
===Option of puberty to annul the marriage=== | ===Option of puberty to annul the marriage in Hanafi and Hanbali law=== | ||
In all schools of classical Islamic law, a father was allowed to enter his pre-pubescent virgin child into a marriage contract without consent. | In all schools of classical Islamic law, a father was allowed to enter his pre-pubescent virgin child into a marriage contract without consent. In Hanafi law and among some Hanbalis,<ref> Kecia Ali (2022), Marriage in Classical Islamic Jurisprudence: A survey of Doctrines" in (eds.) A. Quraishi and F. E. Vogel, ''The Islamic Marriage Contract: Case Studies in Islamic Family Law'', Harvard University Press, page 18</ref> when the child reached the age of puberty he or she could exercise the "option of puberty" (khiyar al-bulugh) to repudiate the marriage, but only if it was entered into negligently, fraudulently or by someone who was not the father (nor grandfather according to Hanafis). The option was also lost to a virgin female who has reached puberty and who had taken no action or remained silent for what is considered a reasonable time after being informed of the contract. A male child retained his option in the same circumstances until he actively approved of the marriage <ref>Esposito, John L. (2001) "Women in Muslim Family Law (2nd Edition)", New York: Syracuse University Press, pp.16-17</ref><ref>Ali, S. M. (2004) "The Position of Women in Islam: A Progressive View", New York: State University of New York Press, pp.40-41</ref> | ||
A famous manual of Hanafi fiqh (law), ''Mukhtasar Al Quduri'', sets out the position of the school founded by Abu Hanifa: | A famous manual of Hanafi fiqh (law), ''Mukhtasar Al Quduri'', sets out the position of the school founded by Abu Hanifa: | ||
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{{Quote|''Chapters on Marriage and Divorce: Responses of Ibn Ḥanbal and Ibn Rāhwayh'' Chapter 3 (Abdullah) §18, translated by Susan Spectorsky, University of Texas Press, 1993<ref name="Spectorsky" />|I asked my father about a man who gives his underage daughter in marriage. “Can she opt [to turn down the marriage] when she is of age?” He said, “She cannot exercise this option if her father gave her in marriage. If she could, then ʿĀʾisha could have with regard to the Prophet, because the Prophet married her when she was six or seven years old, had intercourse with her when she was nine, and died when she was eighteen.”}} | {{Quote|''Chapters on Marriage and Divorce: Responses of Ibn Ḥanbal and Ibn Rāhwayh'' Chapter 3 (Abdullah) §18, translated by Susan Spectorsky, University of Texas Press, 1993<ref name="Spectorsky" />|I asked my father about a man who gives his underage daughter in marriage. “Can she opt [to turn down the marriage] when she is of age?” He said, “She cannot exercise this option if her father gave her in marriage. If she could, then ʿĀʾisha could have with regard to the Prophet, because the Prophet married her when she was six or seven years old, had intercourse with her when she was nine, and died when she was eighteen.”}} | ||
===Marital rape=== | ===Marital rape=== | ||
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==Slaves and Captives== | ==Slaves and Captives== | ||
In recent decades there has more or less been a consensus of scholars that slavery is no longer permitted. Historically however, and still in a few places today, slavery persisted for many centuries. Slaves lose control of their lives to those known as ''owners''. Although Islam promotes the freeing of slaves by promising divine rewards in the afterlife, it also institutionalizes the practice by sanctioning the capture and enslavement of enemy ([[Non-Muslims|kuffar]]) noncombatants as well as promoting an [[w:Indulgence|indulgence]]-style requirement of manumitting a slave for the compensation of sins committed.<ref>{{Quran|4|92}}</ref> The buying and selling of human beings like livestock is permitted in Islam, and there is no limit to the number of slaves a Muslim can own so long as he (or she) can afford to feed, clothe, and shelter them. Slaves have no right over their own persons. A slave may not get married without his or her master's permission, and a slave can redeem his or herself only if the master allows it. | {{Main|Slavery in Islamic Law}} | ||
In recent decades there has more or less been a consensus of scholars that slavery is no longer permitted and it is now illegal in all Muslim-majority countries. Historically however, and still in a few places today, slavery persisted for many centuries. Slaves lose control of their lives to those known as ''owners''. Although Islam promotes the freeing of slaves by promising divine rewards in the afterlife, it also institutionalizes the practice by sanctioning the capture and enslavement of enemy ([[Non-Muslims|kuffar]]) noncombatants in wartime, whose children are then also born into slavery (unless fathered by the owner), as well as promoting an [[w:Indulgence|indulgence]]-style requirement of manumitting a slave for the compensation of sins committed.<ref>{{Quran|4|92}}</ref> The buying and selling of human beings like livestock is permitted in Islam, and there is no limit to the number of slaves a Muslim can own so long as he (or she) can afford to feed, clothe, and shelter them. Slaves have no right over their own persons. A slave may not get married without his or her master's permission, and a slave can redeem his or herself only if the master allows it. | |||
Kecia Ali states regarding the marriage of slaves: | Kecia Ali states regarding the marriage of slaves: | ||
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====Mariyah==== | ====Mariyah==== | ||
Mariyah was a Coptic concubine sent as a gift from Egypt to Muhammad. She gave birth to Muhammad's son Ibrahim, but he died by the time he was two. They were never married, but he had sex with her because she was his property. | [[Maria the Copt (Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah)|Mariyah]] was a Coptic concubine sent as a gift from Egypt to Muhammad. She gave birth to Muhammad's son Ibrahim, but he died by the time he was two. They were never married, but he had sex with her because she was his property. | ||
====Rayhana==== | ====Rayhana==== | ||