August 3, 2013
I have watched as events unfold on this issue that has made us a laughing stock to the world. The loose utterances of Yerima, Asari-Dokubo and that of the LASU lecturer; Prof Ishaq Akintola, have come as a huge surprise. As a Muslim and one enjoined by the Holy Prophet (SAW) & Allah (SWT) to seek knowledge and defend the Ummah through the Sunnah and Holy Qur'an, my submissions are as below:
I have watched as events unfold on this issue that has made us a laughing stock to the world. The loose utterances of Yerima, Asari-Dokubo and that of the LASU lecturer; Prof Ishaq Akintola, have come as a huge surprise. As a Muslim and one enjoined by the Holy Prophet (SAW) & Allah (SWT) to seek knowledge and defend the Ummah through the Sunnah and Holy Qur'an, my submissions are as below:
Allah (SWT) carefully and deliberately did not state an age for a girl to be considered for marriage. Instead, in several Ayats, he stated the qualities and attributes to look out for. These attributes & qualities are a clear indication of maturity level. In Q4:6, it is related to us that the marriageable age for a man or woman is when he or she attains soundness in judgement. The Prophet of Allah (SAW), a model for mankind for whom Allah stands witness to his rock-solid character could not have repudiated the Word of Allah by taking a 6 to 9 year old Aisha (as claimed by those referring to the Hadith narrated by Hisham bin Urwah), a girl within playful and immature age as a responsible wife. Aisha’s age at the time of marriage to the Holy Prophet has been measured against other indices and inferred to be 19 to 20 years with the initial proposal being done when Aisha was 16 years old (Dr Aghassi, HM (2010), ”Could Prophet Mohammad Marry the Underage Ayesha?” www.iranianvoice.net/ayesha_marriage.pdf).
The hadiths of Hisham bin Urwah have also been proven to be unacceptable several times as seen in Tehzibu'l-tehzib, by Ibni Hajar al-Asqalani, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, (one of the most well-known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet, Vol 11, pp. 48 - 51) and by Dr. Aghassi’s works as well.
In Ibn Majah, Hadith no 1862, the Prophet of Allah (SAW) stated that "The best of women is that whom if you look at her you will be pleased, if you ask her to perform any lawful act, she will obey you, and if you are absent or away from her, she will protect and preserve your wealth and lineage." This obviously does not look like the qualities of a girl-child.
Also, a child is incapable of taking crucial decisions which are essential for marriage under Quranic guidance like; taking solemn pledge (Q4:21), Ascertaining mutual attraction (Q4:24), Agreeing to the dowry and any adjustments thereto (Q4:4, Q4:24, Q33:50), Ascertaining if the other person is an idol worshipper (Q2:221).
Allah establishes significant standards that indicate that marriage can happen when maturity is achieved. "Maturity" as we all know varies between continents, countries, weather, gender and even tribes. He deliberately did not pin an age rule for us.
There have also been reports of Hadiths where the Holy Prophet (SAW) had enjoined a woman who was pledged in marriage to a man to accept or decline depending on whether or not she liked the man. This as well does not point us in the direction of abusing the girl-child and suggests that a spouse must have been of age to decide in her own marriage affairs. Also worthy of note are Q58:01, Al-Nisaa’i 3217, Al-Bukhaari, 6455, Sahih Al-Bukhari 7.69, Sahih Al-Bukhari 7.56, Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 62, Number 69, Sahih Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 85, Number 79, Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 103.
Other Hadiths where silence was attributed to consent have been cleared by Aisha’s question to the Prophet where it was stated clearly that ‘silence as a result of shyness’ (Sahih Al-Bukhari 9.101; Sahih Al-Bukhari 9.98).
"O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower ye have given them, - except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good." - Q4:19.
Yerima and Asari-Dokubo should stop their abuse of Islamic provisions and come forward with the authority they have to ascribe girl-child marriage to Islam. Misleading the Muslims ummah is a grave sin and the Qur’an enjoins we the ummah to seek knowledge at all times. Let us leave Islam out of our moral ineptitude and use our positions to create a better society for all.
About the Author
Ojikutu, Gbadebowale Quam is a business administrator located at Alagbado, Lagos. [email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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