The Saudi government seems to be moving closer to a ban on marriages of women under the age of 18. Saudi Gazette/Okaz report that now the Board of Ulema, representing religious leadership, is stating that pointing to the Prophet’s marriage to Aisha should not be interpreted as authorizing child marriages, as many do. What is eye-opening is Sheikh Mane”s reasoning: interpretation of the law should be circumstantial, not rigid. Getting over that philosophical hump would open the door to a far more liberal Islam than that promoted by many Saudi zealots.

Board of Ulema member rebukes minor marriage
Naim Tameem

JEDDAH – Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mane’, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema and an Advisor to the Royal Court, has said that Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) marriage to Ayesha when she was nine years old cannot be used as justification for child marriage today due to the “different circumstances” of the time.

According to Sheikh Al-Mane’, when Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) was contemplating marrying off his daughter he was unable to find anyone better than the Prophet (pbuh).

“It is impossible to use the marriage of Ayesha, the Mother of Believers (May Allah be pleased with her) as a measure for child marriage because of the incompatibility of the conditions and circumstances,” Sheikh Al-Mane’ said.

Child marriage is an issue that has come to the fore in recent months following reports in the local media of aged men marrying young girls, the most recent being the marriage of a 12-year-old to a man in his eighties in Buraidah.

A court in Qassim is scheduled to look into the case on Monday, while the Human Rights Commission has also set up a Shariah specialist team to investigate and meet with the marriage official who conducted the marriage rites.
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