:sl: br. 'Îsa,
Inshaa'Allah, I will answer your question
using specific quotes from the fatwâ website, IslamQA, from which you brought this quote. This way in will be known that the answer provided is acceptable to those who you are quoting from, since it is also from their site. This will preclude any notion that this matter is one where one mufti or sect says one thing, and another says something else.
NOTE: All bold, italics, underline, or capital emphasis is mine.
The issue you have mentioned can be divided into different categories.
The General Ruling on Consent of the Bride
Starting with
this fatwâ: It is NOT permissible for the guardian, whether he is the father or anyone else, to marry off anyone under his care without her consent, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A previously-married woman has more right concerning herself than her guardian, and the permission of a virgin should be sought (regarding marriage), and her permission is her silence.” Narrated by Muslim, 1421.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No previously-married woman should be married off without being consulted, and no virgin should be married off without asking her permission.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what is her permission?” He said: “If she remains silent.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4843; Muslim, 1419.
Similarly, it is not permissible for a guardian to be stubborn about the marriage of a female under his care, or to prevent her from marrying someone she wants to marry if he is compatible with her. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If there comes to you one with whose religious commitment and character you are pleased, then marry (your female relative under your care) to him, for if you do not do that there will be fitnah (tribulation) in the land and much corruption.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1084; classed as hasan by al-Albaani. See also question no.
32580.
With regard to what has happened to you, you have the choice of whether to stay or not. Seek guidance from Allaah (by praying istikhaarah). If you agree to stay in this marriage then all well and good, but if you do not accept to stay with your husband,
then you have the right to seek annulment of the marriage, because it took place without your consent.
It was narrated from Khansa’ bint Khizaam al-Ansaariyyah that her father married her off when she had been previously married, and she did not like that. She went to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he annulled the marriage. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4845. And it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a virgin girl came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him that her father had married her off against her objections. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave her the choice. Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2096; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
The majority of scholars are of the view that if a woman is married off without her consent, then the marriage contract is invalid, because it is a forbidden contract which cannot be validated. This is the view of the Shaafa’is and Hanbalis.
The view of the Hanafis, which was also narrated in one report from Ahmad, is that the contract is dependent upon the woman’s acceptance. If she gives her consent then it is valid, otherwise she may annul it.
See
al-Mughni, 7/364;
Fath al-Baari, 9/194
But so long as the court is in charge of marriages, it is better to refer such matters to the court.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, concerning the matter of a father forcing his daughter to marry:
IT IS HARAAM FOR A MAN TO FORCE HIS DAUGHTER TO MARRY A MAN WHOM SHE DOES NOT WANT TO MARRY, and what is haraam cannot be validated or implemented, because implementing it or validating it goes against the prohibition that has been narrated. When sharee’ah forbids a matter, then we should not be involved in it or do it. If we validate it, that means that we have becomes involved in it and done it, and we have made it equivalent to the contracts that are permitted in sharee’ah.
Based on this, the correct view is that the marriage arranged by the father to a man whom his daughter does not want as a husband is an invalid marriage, and the contract is invalid, and should be examined by the court.
See
al-Fataawa, p. 760; see also
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Ibraaheem, 10/73-78
And
this fatwâ:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permissible for a woman to be made to marry someone she does not want. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A previously-married woman should not be married without being consulted, and a virgin should not be married without asking her permission.” They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, how is her permission given?” He said, “By her silence.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6455).
‘Aa’ishah reported that a girl came to her and said, “My father married me to his brother’s son in order to raise his social standing, and I did not want this marriage [I was forced into it].” ‘Aa’ishah said, “Sit here until the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) comes. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and she told him about the girl. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent for her father, then he gave the girl the choice of what to do. She said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have accepted what my father did, but I wanted to prove something to other women.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 3217).
Having answered the question concerning the general ruling, let us look at the marriage of those who have not reached puberty.
First of all we have to distinguish between a number of different things. On one hand there is the issue of the validity of the marriage contract itself from a religious view. On the other hand, there is the issue of the marital relationship and the status of such marriage from the Islamic perspective.
The marriage contract itself for such marriages will be valid, however they are normally discouraged (Ibn Naqib al-Misri mentions it is offensive, makrûh) and actual relations in the marriage are prohibited if one has not reached puberty or if any harm will come to either the husband or the wife.
From
this fatwâ: It is preferable for a guardian NOT to marry off his daughter when she is still young unless there is a valid reason for that.
Al-Nawawi said:
It should be noted that al-Shaafa’i and his companions said:
It is preferable for fathers and grandfathers NOT to marry off a virgin until she reaches the age of puberty AND THEY ASK HER PERMISSION, lest she end up in a marriage that she dislikes. What they said does not go against the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah, because what they meant is that
they should NOT marry her off before she reaches puberty if there is no OBVIOUS interest to be served that they fear will be missed out on if they delay it, as in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah. In that case it is preferable to go ahead with the marriage because the father is enjoined to take care of his child’s interests and not to let a good opportunity slip away.
And Allaah knows best.
Sharh Muslim, 9/206.
From
this fatwâ:
Marriage to a young girl before she reaches puberty is permissible according to sharee’ah, and it was narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this point. [...] The fact that it is permissible to marry a minor girl does NOT imply that it is permissible to have intercourse with her, rather the husband should not have intercourse with her until she becomes able for that. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) delayed consummating the marriage to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her).
From
this fatwâ:
In summary, then, it is permitted to contract marriage with a young girl and to hand her over to her husband to stay with him before she reaches adolescence. As for consummating the marriage, this does NOT happen UNTIL she is physically able for it. Thus the matter becomes quite clear.
From the
same fatwâ you cited, it continues by saying:
But it was narrated from Imam Ahmad that whoever reaches the age of nine years comes under the same ruling as a girl who has reached puberty, so her permission must be sought. But if the father opts to be on the safe side and ask her permission, that is better. Al-Mughni, 8/398-405.
And one fatwâ from Shaykh Abdul-Azîz Ibn Ahmad Ad-Durayhim, concerning the validity of marriage of minors:
The marriage contract will be valid as long as its legal conditions are fulfilled - such as the guardian and the witnesses - and all possible legal obstructions are absent. Islamic scholars have never - to the extent of my knowledge - stipulated a minimum age for marriage for either men or women. [...]
This is looking at the question strictly from the context of Islamic Law.
As for the possible negative consequences of a man of such a mature age marrying such a young girl, it is patently obvious. The discrepancies in their capabilities, both physically and mentally, could bring about serious differences between the two of them that could lead to the failure of the marriage. This is something that has been seen and is well understood.
Therefore, I would not recommend such a marriage nor would I encourage it.
Moreover, with respect to what we have said about the legal validity of such a marriage, that refers to the validity of the contract itself. As for the effects of the marriage - such as privacy, intimacy and sexual relations - that is another matter entirely. Such things are permitted only if the girl is able to handle such a relationship without any harm whatsoever coming to. Otherwise, it is prohibited. This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "There shall be no harm nor the causing of harm."
It can also be seen in the very conduct of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He did not consummate his marriage with 'A’ishah for a number of years on account of her young age.
So when it is said that such a marriage is legally valid, it is specifically speaking about the validity of the legal contract. As for the relationship itself, any potential of harm will render it impermissable and it can only be carried out after both parties have matured and achieved puberty, consenting to such a relationship. The guardian does not have to request the permission of the child to arrange the contract at such an age because the child has not matured such that they have the capacity to make educated and informed decisions so it is for the guardian to act in their best interest whether it be in accordance with what the child wants or not. But the relationship itself comes after puberty and maturity and consequently the guardian is supposed to wait so that the girl can reach puberty and her permission can be sought before marriage, as mentioned by Imam An-Nawawi.
I hope this helps. Any questions, feel free to ask.
:w: