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Benefit of early marriage in Islam
Feb 12, 2023
As you know, marriage is one of the most important issues in every person’s life because it affects all aspects of life and a successful marriage can make a person progress in various fields, but if the marriage is unsuccessful, it causes many problems for the person.
In the following paragraphs, we would like to explain Islam’s view of early marriage and its benefits. We will also discuss child marriage and its consequences.
Marriage is strongly encouraged in Islam and early marriage is suggested. Islam insists that marriage should be contracted as soon as possible, from the very beginning when one feels the need. The marriage age in Islam is 9 years for girls and 15 for boys.
Islam considers marriage as a means of sexual satiation for both men and women and believes that other subjects will have an opportunity to grow and develop along with this connection.
Islam has insisted on this type of marriage to prevent youth and teenagers from going astray. According to religion, marriage is the best and most effective way to control sex drive.
Does early marriage, as recommended in Islamic recommendations, mean disregarding other conditions such as spiritual growth and maturity?
No, other conditions should be considered. That is, just as the physical growth and suitability of a boy or girl for marriage is measured with sexual maturity, their intellectual growth and abilities for marriage should be tested. It is obvious that people are not the same in terms of intellectual development and issues such as economic maturity, social maturity and personality and differ according to the case and social, family and personal conditions of people.
Therefore, the growth and maturity of people in marriage plays an important role, apart from sexual aspects.
Therefore, according to the contents mentioned: What Islam means by early marriage is the readiness and talent of people after puberty, and this readiness does not mean disregarding intellectual growth and other things mentioned above.
What is Islam’s position on child marriage?
Regarding child marriage in Islam, one should refer to the Qur’an and Hadith. According to Islam, there is no specific age limit for marriage. This means that child marriage is acceptable and not forbidden in Islam. Of course, girls need permission from their guardians to enter the marriage period.
What is child marriage?
Child marriage is a formal or informal marriage in which a person enters into a marriage contract before reaching the age of 18.
From a psychological point of view, child marriage is defined as a marital relationship in which one or both persons are under the age of 18. Although this definition seems simple, the realities of early child marriage can be complex.
In many countries, child marriage and even having sex with a person under the age of 18 is a crime. And people under the age of 18 are not considered to have the intellectual maturity to determine a life partner. But in some countries and ethnic groups, they marry off their daughters as soon as they reach puberty, i.e. 9 years old and consider her ready to marry.
The injuries caused by child marriage
Marriage laws in Iran:
The legal marriage age in Iran is 13 for girls and 15 for boys. Child marriage in Iran exists in both tradition and law. However, the marriage of a girl under the age of 13 (can go as low as 9 years) and a boy under the age of 15 is subject to authorization but on condition of expediency as determined by a competent court and family male guardian.
Marriage statistics in Iran:
According to the marriage statistics in Iran, the number of marriages of girls aged 10 to 14 has reached 9753 marriages with an increase of about 32% compared to the same statistics in the last year.
Injuries caused by child marriage
Physical injuries: Girls at a younger age are prone to sexually transmitted diseases due to their physical condition. The cells of young girls’ vagina and cervix lack guard cells and are easily damaged at a young age.
Complications such as gestational blood pressure, blood infections in pregnancy and bleeding are more common in young women under 15 than in women married in their 20s, and these complications put them at higher risk of death. In general, pregnant mothers under the age of 20 are at a higher risk of death than adult women.
In addition, young mothers do not have sufficient decision-making and parenting skills. Young women cannot and are unable to make decisions about their own health care. Spouses and their families interfere in their decisions.
Psychological injuries: Psychological and emotional effects are one of the destructive effects of child marriage. In fact, with such a marriage, the child is somehow distanced from his childhood and his relationship with his family and friends is cut off, and on the other hand, life responsibilities are also increased and his activities are limited to household affairs and raising children, but this leads to depression and anxiety.
On the other hand, young girls are usually married to adults and therefore cannot talk to each other and live their lives with understanding because the views are different.
Another of these harms is deprivation of education and employment. Education plays a central role in developing and enhancing children’s insight and awareness, but the phenomenon of early marriage is a common and powerful contributor to the lack of education and training.
According to the mentioned cases, the consequences of child marriage are serious for girls and boys, both physically and psychologically. And the harmful impacts caused by child marriage are irreparable.
Disadvantages of Temporary marriage
Disadvantages of early marriage
One of the most important disadvantages of early marriage is ignoring children’s right to choose.
The children’s right to choose freely is the first thing taken away by early marriage. Because it is the family that decides for the children in the field of choosing a spouse.
High-risk pregnancies, the loss of the right to education, the right to protection from physical and mental violence, the right to health standards, the right to rest and leisure, and finally the right to work are the consequences of this type of marriage.
The lack of education and social awareness leads to women being abused and sexually exploited in early marriages, better known as risky marriages. And due to the lack of preparation for sex, women’s mental and physical health is also affected.
Source: medium.com