Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek
His forgiveness, and turn to Him in
repentance. We seek refuge with Him
from the evils of our souls and the evils of
our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none
can misguide, and whomever Allah leads
astray, none can guide. We bear witness
that there is no god but Allah alone
without partner, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah
be on him) is His servant and Messenger.
Brothers and Sisters in Islam,
As-salaamu ‘alaykum,
On Tuesday, 16th July, 2013, the Senate
had voted to delete section 29(4)(b) of
the Nigerian Constitution which deems a
married woman to be of ‘full age’ with the
effect that she can renounce her
citizenship, even if she is below 18 years.
But then, Senator Sani Yerima raised a
constitutional order that the vote was un-
Islamic since Item 61 of Part I, Second
Schedule (Exclusive Legislative List)
empowers the National Assembly to
legislative on:
The formation, annulment and dissolution
of marriages other than marriages under
Islamic law and Customary law including
matrimonial causes relating thereto.
As if what transpired at the hallowed
chambers of the Senate was ambiguous,
several misleading media reports scripted
by highly unprofessional journalists, and
vetted by grossly unqualified editors filled
the dailies and internet news sites. The
impression given was that underage
marriage has been endorsed by the
Senate, as if the issue borders on age of
marriage at all. Laughably, the confused
Nigerian Feminists Forum, without taking
a minute to read the provisions of section
29, released a junk of a statement saying
they were
greatly concerned about the resolution by
the Senate to alter section 29(a) of the
Constitution which stipulates that a
woman shall not be qualified for marriage
until she attains 18 years of age.
Within few hours, the social media
became filled with rancorously ear-
splitting rantings of #ChildNotBride,
#EducationNotHusband, #PenNotPenis,
etc, by self-appointed and confused
advocates reducing the IQ of their gullible
followers.
What is perhaps most disheartening is
that some Muslims too, in blatant
defiance to the dictates of Islam, joined
these hate mongers in peddling their
ignorance, immorality and bias.
As an association with a mandate to
advance the course of Islamic education
and the betterment of humanity, we wish
to make some clarifications and set the
records straight.
First, marriage in Islam is not only a social
institution but also a religious injunction.
Allah says: “And marry the unmarried
among you.” – Qur’an 24: 32. This is a
directive, clear and expressive. Marriage
in Islam is a holistic institution which
creates a fulfilling social, religious, familial
and learning experience for all the
parties. So those who think it’s just about
sexual intercourse got it wrong.
Second, under the Islamic law, age is not
of essence when it comes to the validity
of marriage. What is important in this
regard is the ability to enter into
contractual relationship and the physical
development of the child, which varies
from one place to the other. Allah says:
“Marry women of your choice…” – Qur’an
4: 3. The Prophet also said: “O young
men! Whoever among you is able to
marry should do so…”
Marriage to a child (properly, it is only a
betrothal) is allowed in Islam. The child
can remain with his own parents
thereafter or be with the proposed
husband’s family, UNTIL SHE IS
PHYSICALLY MATURED AND GIVES HER
CONSENT. Before these two conditions
are met, no consummation or any other
sexual activity may occur. The campaign
of #EducationNotHusband and
#PenNotPenis is therefore misplaced.
Seeking knowledge is compulsory for
every Muslim, male and female,
regardless of age, and early marriage
(properly practiced as laid down by Islam)
only enhances a girl’s education and not
hinders it. Such a betrothed girl will have
a sense of direction and decency and not
mess around like those half-clad, ‘nail-
trousered’ girls you see everywhere who
are tasted by God-knows-how-many men
before they get to their final ‘consumers’.
That is the Islamic ideal. There might
have been abuses of it in the past by
some persons but this does not detract
from the sanctity of the institution as laid
down by Islam. There are also daily
abuses in marriage, election, education
and Internet usage. Shall we then stop all
these things because some folks do abuse
their use?
Third, we wish to categorically state that it
is NOT COMPULSORY to marry out a child
in Islam. But it is allowed, beneficial and
lawful. In Islam, the only authority that
determines what is compulsory, what is
permitted, what is discouraged and what
is prohibited is Allah. This is a right He
shares with no one. Hence, while a
particular Muslim will not be committing
any sin if he does not give out his child
early in marriage, it would be criminal of
him to condemn another Muslim who
does it or even detest it or campaign
against it.
Under the common law, the age at which
a person is legally permitted to engage in
sexual activity is below the marriageable
age. In Nigeria for instance, Article 21 of
the Child Rights Act provides:
“No person under the age of 18 years is
capable of contracting a valid marriage,
and accordingly, a marriage so contracted
is null and void and of no effect
whatsoever.”
On the age of consent, the Criminal Code
Act provides in section 221 that “any
person who has unlawful carnal
knowledge of a girl under the age of 16
years is liable to imprisonment for 2
years, with or without caning.” Hence,
such a person is guilty of rape, even if the
girl purported to consent.
The implication is that a girl of 16 or 17
years can legally give consent to sexual
intercourse, but cannot legally give
consent to marriage. This is something
reprehensible in Islam and in common
sense. How on earth could one reconcile
a legal permission to engage in sexual
activity with a legal prohibition to get
married at age 16 for instance? And we all
know how devastating the consequences
have been: widespread fornication,
abortions, increased cases of HIV/AIDS,
etc.
Fortunately, the provisions of section 21
of the Child Rights Act above is, by virtue
of Item 61 of the Exclusive Legislative List
earlier quoted, unconstitutional and has
no effect whatsoever on Islamic law
marriage.
Further, we maintain that by now, it
should have been clear to everyone who
has a brain in his skull that a
‘nationalization’ of the marriageable age is
not practicable, considering the
heterogeneous nature of Nigeria. So if
you think early marriage or child
betrothal is not for you, no problem.
But do not attempt to foist your
culture of early fornication and late
marriage on us. Such an attempt shall
fail, as zina (fornication or adultery) is
one of the gravest sins in Islam. We
say yes to #MarriageNotFornication.
Finally, we wish to once again counsel the
Nigerian media practitioners and traffic-
hungry bloggers to always doubly verify
their facts before news items are
disseminated.
Success comes from Allah.