“And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women-if you doubt, then their period is three months, and those who have not menstruated. And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth. And whoever fears Allah-He will make for him of this matter ease.” (Qur’an 65:4)
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The Qur’an — like the Bible, does not set down the age for marriage.
“And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women—if you doubt, then their period is three months, and those who have not menstruated. And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth. And whoever fears Allah—He will make ease for him in this matter.” (Qur’an 65:4)
The above verse can be used to suggest that a person can marry a girl who has not even had menses. In science, one of these terms is called Amenorrhea.
As long as there is ovulation, a woman can still get pregnant.
Again, the Qur’an does not give a definite age requirement. It simply gives some guidelines.
For example:
“Test the orphans, until they reach balaghu; then, if you perceive in them the right judgment, deliver to them their property; consume it not wastefully and hastily ere they are grown. If any man is rich, let him be abstinent; if poor, let him consume in reason. And when you deliver their property to them, take witnesses over them; Allah suffices for a reckoner.”(Qur’an 4:6)
This text says nothing about the age of marrying any female. It is simply stating that their property will be held in trust until two things happen.
A) Is that the female is balaghu. Says absolutely nothing about what age would be appropriate for marriage.
B) That this female can have her property delivered to her when you ‘perceive in them the right judgment’.
The word balagha comes from the root word blgh, which means ‘to reach’ or ‘to attain’. Today it is used to reference eloquence in speech. Or at the very least, being fluid in speaking.
People try and make what they perceive to be a logical jump by surmising that if one has to be in ‘the right judgment’ to take ownership of property, that this implies somehow a female who is a ‘teenager’ or ‘young adult’ would also need to be in ‘the right judgment’ to bare children.
Well, according to the designer Allah — who knows best — that is not the case. Insh’Allah, we will discuss this further down the article in the section on analyzing this through evolution.
We think of nothing more insulting to women than to ask them to take an IQ test to determine cognitive awareness. Before we get married, we need you to take a test to determine the following:
- Your ability to reason.
- Memory — ability to recall information.
- Problem-solving skills.
- Verbal ability.
- Mental acuity.
- Spatial awareness
This cruel interpretation of the text would not allow for vulnerable women to get married. We are talking about women with emotional disorders (there are an array of them).
Abu Musa narrated that :
The Messenger of Allah said: “There is no marriage except with a Wali.”
Source: (https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:1101)
What is interesting about the above hadith is that the Hanafi school understands this to refer to the above category of women (vulnerable women due to various facts) as a nikah is a contract and she can:
a) have a guarantor for her marital contract — a wali
b) not have a guarantor for her marital contract.
Orphans are not necessarily people with no assets or no wealth. Maybe not appropriate here, but no one thinks of Bruce Wayne (the character) otherwise known as ‘Batman’ as someone with no wealth or assets. An orphan, rather, is someone (anyone) who, if they do not have guardians and guarantors, can be taken advantage of.
Note the following verse:
“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they reach maturity (ashuddahuma) and extract their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience.”(Qur’an 18:82)
ashuddahu comes from an Arabic root meaning fully tight, a rope that is pulled from both ends so that it is firm and not loose. (Indicating that they are now standing straight on their feet)
The following verse dispels any idea about females needing to be in ‘the right judgment’ to bare children.
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend their means on them.” (Qur’an 4:34)
Also, notice something else about the text above in “let him consume in reason” — maybe a poor man who has taken in orphans that he has a right over some of their property/wealth in reason. It does not specify any amount. This is delegated to an authority outside the Qur’an. If there is any dispute, an arbiter or legal authority will be brought in.
“O you who have believed, let those whom your right hands possess and those who have not [yet] reached puberty among you (yablughu l-huluma minkum) ask permission of you [before entering] at three times: before the dawn prayer and when you put aside your clothing [for rest] at noon and after the night prayer. [These are] three times of privacy for you. There is no blame upon you nor upon them beyond these [periods], for they continually circulate among you — some of you, among others. Thus does Allah make clear to you the verses; and Allah is Knowing and Wise. And when the children among you reach puberty(balagha l-atfalu minkumu l-huluma), let them ask permission [at all times] as those before them have done. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses; and Allah is Knowing and Wise.” (Qur’an 24:58-59)
There are several keywords one can look into in the above text:
Aftal-meaning children or toddlers.
Balagha hulm (it is tied with the wet dream) is a sign of puberty. Why do you think the word hulum, which is connected to dreams, is connected with balagh?
Qur’an 21: 5 & Qur’an 12:44.
Balagha (eloquence and clearness)
Bulugh (a boy or a girl reaches the age of clarity)
These two words above have the same trilateral root in the Arabic language and are closely connected together.
A Muslim preacher absolutely shuts the Christian antagonist down with one simple question.
We love Brother Sabeel and his gentle character. (We pray that Allah continues to bless and support him.) This video we feel was a missed opportunity to both capitalize and educate Christians on a fundamental point that they constantly use to assail the Blessed Messenger (saw)
Now notice that this man is quite combative. His body language, invading personal space, everything about him is combative. He is trying to corner this Muslim brother, Sabeel Ahmed, over the age of Ayesha (ra)
Sabeel Ahmed is, of course, one of those Muslims who are apologists who often don’t state plainly their view on something. Now notice that @14:30 the whole flow of this exchange completely changes for a moment. Once, the man made the mistake of saying ‘according to this book (the Bible), marriage to a child is wrong.’ Sabeel asked him simply to show him where this was stated? Show him one verse. The man IMMEDIATELY disengaged eye contact and turned towards the other man.
Sabeel Ahmed (May Allah bless him for his efforts) did not do three things here.
- Point out that getting married does not equate to consummation in the marriage. For example, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette did not consummate their marriage for seven years, to cite a famous example.
In many parts of the Indian subcontinent—Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and some Muslim communities—historical child marriage did not mean the couple began marital life immediately.
Instead, it typically involved:
Marriage ceremony (vivāha / nikāḥ) at a young age
A purely social and ritual event intended to “join the families” or fulfill cultural norms.
Gṛha-praveśa (the bride entering the husband’s home) years later
This was the actual start of married life.
Consummation only after puberty
Consummation was normally delayed until the bride reached maturity.
Many communities explicitly forbade cohabitation or intercourse until then.
This is actually from the Qur’an.
“There is no blame if you divorce women before the marriage is consummated or the dowry is settled. But give them a compensation—the rich according to his means and the poor according to his. A reasonable compensation is an obligation on the good-doers. And if you divorce them before consummating the marriage but after deciding on a dowry, pay half of the dowry, unless the wife graciously waives it or the husband graciously pays in full. Graciousness is closer to righteousness. And do not forget kindness among yourselves. Surely Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.” (Qur’an 2:236-237)
It should be noted that in Islam the schools of jurisprudence need consent from the woman or they need her not to object. Consent is not something attainable from a child.
2. He didn’t stay focused on that point! 16 minutes of intense discussion, and he let that man right off the hook. If he could get the man to admit that the Bible does not give an age for marriage, he could have:
3. Ask the man on what basis he objects to it?
SCIENCE / EVOLUTION — on what AGE is appropriate for a female to bear children.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, that you put aside religion and culture for a moment. Let us argue from the perspective of biological science. According to evolution, when is a Homo sapien female able to have a child?
“That was the Way (sunnata) of Allah in the case of those who passed away of old, and you will not find any change in the Way (lisunnati)of Allah.” (Qur’an 33:62)
So, whatever comes about that is also corroborated by science is something that Allah has decreed. We believe there is no Muslim who would dispute this.
https://www.webmd.com/children/children-no-period-15#1
The opening article says:
“Girls usually get their first menstrual period when they’re 12 or 13. It’s a sign that your body is maturing, so that one day if you want to, you should be able to have a baby.”
So, for all the atheists and agnostics and those who decry that there is no objective morality and yet attack Islamic oral traditions that ascribe to the Blessed Messenger-saw that he married a female at a very young age, it should be noted that nature has determined that the moment a female has menses and produces eggs -she can have a baby.
There is no one that can dispute this.
That means that if we completely remove religion from the picture, nature—aka—evolution has decreed that a human female is viable to propagate her species at a certain age range.
It has nothing to with education, it has nothing to do with mental capacity and everything to do with her ability to have children.
So the Qur’an does not give any particular requirements or age. This is left up to good common sense, and what is appropriate from one culture to the other.
We have even had conversations with U.S. Americans about the appropriate age for people to be together, and they were all over the map.
However, what we did find interesting is that, among progressive /liberal types in the United States, all types of couple arrangements are acceptable, such as LGBT, people who are swingers, or share their partners, etc.
Yet, they really do frown upon age disparity. Whereas in Asia we have seen and witnessed very often 10 and 15 year age gaps between couples.
Al Pacino (81 years of age) started dating Noor Alfallah (28) when they started dating back in 2022.
A picture of the couple together. (https://people.com/al-pacinos-girlfriend-noor-alfallah-relationship-blossome-like-film-school-8604715)
Elvis Presley was 24 when he started dating Priscilla Presley, who was then 14. The People of the United States loved Elvis and his music and people at the time were not outrated over the apparent age gap.
A picture of the young couple together.
https://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/photos-elvis-priscilla-lisa-marie.html
Final Thoughts. People have taken this whole age of Aisha (ra) and made a mountain out of a molehill. This is likely due to conditioning and social surroundings. It is interesting that this is not a Jewish objection or a Hindu objection. In other words, it is interesting to know which cultures have objections to which things and why. We would encourage you to read the comments on this article and the exchange we have had with others. As mentioned, the number of Muslim men we have personally encountered that are married to a female under the age of 21, let alone 16 or 12 is 0. When something like that does happen, it becomes international news as if an airplane went down in some remote part of the world. Islam gives some parameters on the basis for a male or female to be eligible for marriage. It does not give any artificial boundaries.
We have personally asked: “Your daughter is 18 and a man who is 45 has an interest in marrying her. Do you let it transpire?” His response was a resounding no, and that tells you all you need to know about the artificiality of such positions to begin with.
As regards the hadith on the matter, they are ahad dhani, lone narrator reports, which means it is speculative in nature.
The hadith could be true and Aisha (ra) could have simply guessed her age. Some people in our team have met Indonesians who are not certain of their age due to not having birth certificates. One could claim they are 17, yet in reality be 14. One could assume they are 11 and in reality be 13.
This article claims up to 25% of children in Indonesia do not own birth certificates. This also complicates matters for those Indonesian women wanting to work as domestic helpers over seas. Agencies require certain age requirements and this often becomes difficult to ascertain with 100% accuracy.
This is why you get mature academic discussion from in traditional Islamic circles on the matter:
You may also be interested in reading:
https://primaquran.com/2022/10/04/the-age-of-aisha-and-the-highly-detailed-quran/
So there is wisdom in the Qur’an leaving these matters to time/location/custom/culture.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah (swt) Guide the Ummah.
May Allah (swt) Forgive the Ummah.
Prima Quran 