Hello, I am new here, so please forgive my ignorance on the subject. I had a question about the age of marriage in Islam. I am planning to put a research paper together later for a sociology class that I am taking. My paper will basically be a comparative work on the age of consent and related topics among various religions and cultures around the world. So I am also currently investigating this question on judaism, christianity, and possibly several other religions.
But I wanted to talk to real muslims online to see what their knowledge was about this subject.
Here are my general questions:
What is the age of consent in Islam for marriage? Is there even a set age? Or does it vary? Is it more dependent on a country's culture or on Islam?
I have done some very basic research, and it appears that the prophet Muhammad had several wives, one being a'ishah, whom many islamic scholars believe was 9 when the marriage was consumated. At least this is what I understand according to the Sahih Al bukhari correct?
Do muslims believe this is the minimum age? Or do they believe that now that age is too young? If so, why the change today, if there is one? (I believe in Iran today that the age of consent is 9 and that the Ayatollah Homeini was 28 when he married his 10 year old wife. If I am wrong, please correct me.)
If it is this young, it wouldn't surprise me because I believe even the Talmud has a younger age, although honestly, I am also ignorant about how this age is viewed today by Jews.
And of course in Christianity, only in recent times has the age been raised due to cultural pressures. It is widely believed that Mary was around 12-17 years old and that Joseph was probably between 20-30. And in Europe, girls were married off as young as 10 for centuries.
One other important question. If the age of consent is indeed 9 years old, how does Islam view the age gap between a wife and a husband? I assume it is not an issue considering the prophet Muhammad was over 50 when he supposedly married the 6 year old aisha.
These are a lot of questions, but anybody with knowledge o
I have done some very basic research, and it appears that the prophet Muhammad had several wives, one being a'ishah, whom many islamic scholars believe was 9 when the marriage was consumated. At least this is what I understand according to the Sahih Al bukhari correct?
Yes
Do muslims believe this is the minimum age? Or do they believe that now that age is too young? If so, why the change today, if there is one? (I believe in Iran today that the age of consent is 9 and that the Ayatollah Homeini was 28 when he married his 10 year old wife. If I am wrong, please correct me.)
If it is this young, it wouldn't surprise me because I believe even the Talmud has a younger age, although honestly, I am also ignorant about how this age is viewed today by Jews.
And of course in Christianity, only in recent times has the age been raised due to cultural pressures. It is widely believed that Mary was around 12-17 years old and that Joseph was probably between 20-30. And in Europe, girls were married off as young as 10 for centuries.
One other important question. If the age of consent is indeed 9 years old, how does Islam view the age gap between a wife and a husband? I assume it is not an issue considering the prophet Muhammad was over 50 when he supposedly married the 6 year old aisha.
Regarding 'Aisha's marriage to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) this thread will give you a good insight
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