Juridical Approaches in the Opinions of Proponents and Opponents of Marriage of Minors

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The aim of this research is to present the jurisprudential opinions concerning the marriage of minors, both those in favor and those against, to facilitate the understanding of the ruling sought by students of knowledge and others in this matter and to explain the benefits and drawbacks of the marriage of minors. My reason for choosing this topic is the diversity of jurisprudential opinions surrounding the marriage of minors and the desire to clarify the issue of the marriage of minors from a jurisprudential perspective to serve Islamic jurisprudential heritage and address the lack of knowledge among some Muslims regarding such rulings. The importance of this research lies in its role as a jurisprudential Islamic study aimed at understanding the jurisprudential rulings related to the marriage of minors. The research plan is organized into an introduction and two sections. The first section “the marriage of minor girls, its concept and types” is divided into three sub-sections. The first sub-section is on what is meant by the marriage of minor girls. The second sub-section is on the objectives of marriage. The third sub-section is on the types of minors in Islamic jurisprudence. The second section “Jurisprudential approaches to the marriage of minor girls” is also divided into three sub-sections. The first sub-section is on the view of those who permit it, their evidences and benefits of this type of marriage. The second sub-section is on the position of those who oppose it, their evidences and drawbacks of this marriage. The third sub-section is about the preference between the opinion of the majority of scholars and their opponents. The study concluded with a number of results, including: citing evidence from the Qur’ān and Sunnah, the majority of scholars are of the opinion that the marriage of young girls (underage girls) is permissible. Among the benefits of this permissibility is that not specifying an age for marriage sometimes serves the interest (maṣlaḥah). In some cases, early marriage of a boy and a girl who possess somewhat mental and psychological abilities beyond their age has a positive effect that lies in assuming responsibility. According to the view of the opponents, among the legal disadvantages are: the purpose of marriage, of course, is to satisfy one’s desire, and there is no desire for children, and according to the Sharīʽah, procreation and childhood are incompatible with them. Finally, consideration must be given to setting specific goals for this marriage and not generalizing the ruling on it and setting legal regulations for it that estimate the need motivating this marriage.