Several months ago a local newspaper carried a report in which an MJC sheikh made the following comments: "Minor-adults aged between 13 and 18 could n

Answer

There is no concept of 'minor-adults' in Islam. A person is either a

minor or a major. The claim made by the sheikh is baseless. The sheikh made his claims to appease the western mind. His mental inferiority constrained him to blurt out the drivel about 13

and 18 year old persons.

A person is an adult in Islam on attaining puberty regardless of age. It is gross ignorance to aver that an 18 year old cannot marry without parental consent, and that such a marriage will be invalid. If a boy attains puberty before 13, he is regarded an adult in the Shari-

ah, and if a girl attains puberty before 11, she is also an adult. The latest age for reaching adulthood is 15 years for both girls and boys. If the physical signs of adulthood do not manifest,

then at the age of 15 the minor will be an adult in Islam.

According to the Shaafi' Math-hab – we presume that the sheikh is a Shaafi' – a female of any age, be she 60 years, CANNOT marry without the permission of the Wali (her father, grandfather, uncle, etc.) This law applies to both minor and

major females in terms of the Shaafi' Math-hab. However, the sheikh sought to restrict it to minors. The Nikah will simply not be valid according to the Shaafi' Math-hab even if a

60 year old female marries without the consent of her Wali.

The marriage of a male who is baaligh (an adult even if he happens to be 13 years) is valid even without parental consent despite such consent being morally imperative. This is according to both Shaafi' and

Hanafi Math-habs. According to the Hanafi Math-hab, the marriage of an adult female even if she is 13 years, is valid without parental consent. The issue here is validity not feasibility.

The marriage of an adult male and adult female cannot be annulled even if he/ she is under 18 and under 13, if it was contracted without parental consent. This is the Hanafi view. The Shaafi' view is that the Nikah of the female without parental consent can be annulled, not that of the adult male. So what the MJC sheikh said is palpable drivel to appease his western masters.