Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
According to Islamic teachings, marriage is only valid with mutual consent, emotional maturity, and the absence of harm. The Quran and Hadith emphasize compassion, protection, and consent—making forced or premature marriages invalid and harmful under Islamic law.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
According to the Quran, marriage is a solemn contract between two consenting adults. So, there is no room in Islam for a coerced marriage. Allah says, {And among His signs is that He created for you, of yourselves, mates, so that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between you love and mercy. In that are signs for those who reflect.} (Ar-Rum 30:21)
How can there be comfort and tranquility in a marriage that is forced on either of the spouses? That is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “No woman who was never married before should be married without her consent, and her consent can be inferred from her silence (as she may be shy), but as for someone who had been married before should be married without a clear statement of consent.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
So, there is no valid marriage without a woman’s consent, whether young or old. A young girl may be too shy to say it aloud; the Prophet told us that her consent can be gauged from her silence when asked about it. So, there is no way for anyone to say that Islam allows a father or guardian to marry their daughter without her approval.
If a girl has been married while she has given consent to it, can her husband have a sexual union with her?
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah has ruled that it cannot be allowed in Islam as it may be hurtful to her. The Prophet has established the rule: There shall be no toleration of inflicting harm or reciprocating harm with another harm.”
Therefore, the jurists have inferred a golden rule from the above Prophetic statement: where there is a risk of causing harm, it should be removed. In conclusion, if such practices are prevalent, the state should intervene to stop them to prevent harm.
👉 Explore related Islamic rulings:
- Early Marriage in Islam
- Love before Marriage in Islam
- Pros and Cons of Delaying Marriage in Islam
- Is Secret Marriage Allowed in Islam?
- Does Islam Allow Marrying Cousins?
Almighty Allah knows best.