Book: Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law

In Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law, Carolyn Baugh offers an in-depth exploration of 8th-13th century legal sources on the marriageability of prepubescents, focusing on such issues as maintenance, sexual readiness, consent, and a father’s right to compel.

In Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law, Carolyn Baugh offers an in-depth exploration of 8th-13th century legal sources on the marriageability of prepubescents, focusing on such issues as maintenance, sexual readiness, consent, and a father’s right to compel. Modern efforts to resist establishment of a minimum marriage age in countries such as Saudi Arabia rest on claims of early juristic consensus that fathers may compel their prepubescent daughters to marry. This work investigates such claims by highlighting the extremely nuanced discussions and debates recorded in early legal texts. From the works of famed early luminaries to the “consensus writers” of later centuries, each chapter brings new insights into a complex and enduring debate.

About the Author

Lena Larsen, Ph.D. (2011), is Director of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo. She is co-editor of New Directions in Islamic Thought (I.B. Tauris, 2009) and Gender and Equality in Muslim Family Law (I.B. Tauris, 2013).Carolyn G. Baugh, Ph.D. (2011), University of Pennsylvania, is Assistant Professor of History at Gannon University. In addition to scholarly articles, she has translated Ibn Khaldūn’s treatise on Sufism, Shifāʾ al-sāʾil fī tahdhīb al-masāʾil for the Library of Arabic Literature.

Bibliographic Information

Title: Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law

Author: Lena Larsen

Publisher: BRILL

 Language: English

Length: 240  pages

ISBN: 978-90-04-34486-0

Pub. Date: 6 June 2017

Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law