The spirit of Islam

The Sunday edition of The Post published the interview of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Maabi, a Saudi marriage official, to LBC TV channel. In the interview, the Saudi official said, “Islam allows the marriage of even one-year old girl. However, the relationship in this case is subject to maintaining a distance till the age of puberty”. The newspaper published the interview with a lot of editing but the unedited internet version of the interview is present with me. According to the internet version, the Saudi official had linked this permission to the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), which was quite a painful experience for Pakistanis like me. In my view, such debates have emerged in the international media at a time when the think-tanks of the Western world, including Europe and America, are trying their best to portray Islam as a religion that preaches terrorism and tyranny. It should, therefore, be seen as a planned conspiracy while Muslims should avoid getting trapped into such issues.
Instead of debating in which country or region the girls reach their age of puberty early, we should stick to the two fundamental principles laid by Islam. The first principle says Islam is a religion of justice and makes the consent of the girl obligatory for the marriage. A one-year old girl cannot be expected to take such a decision and how was it possible that the marriage takes place with merely the consent of the girl’s father. It is quite probable that such a girl, after reaching her age of puberty, might find herself bored with the face of her husband. Could such marriages be termed legal?
The most important thing is to follow the law of the country. It is mentioned in the Constitution of Pakistan that no law could be formulated that violates the spirit of the Holy Quran or the sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Now I do not mean that following the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is to enforce all such laws of his time that were in line with the socio-cultural norms of that society and which he himself followed to some extent without much alterations made to it. For instance, slavery was prevalent during the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and even though he advised men to keep good attitude to their slaves and mentioned it was better to free them but did not at once asked them to put an end to slavery or ordered punishment in case anyone kept a slave. However, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) set the environment needed to change the old tribal traditions.
The Prophet (PBUH) himself married his close relative to a slave and declared free the child mothered by a slave woman. Due to the prevalent cultural, economic, and war conditions, no drastic changes were made but gradually the tradition of slavery had faded to the extent that no Muslim country allows it in the present times. No such law can be seen practised even in Saudi Arabia where pure Islamic laws prevail. Now it will look absurd if we allow slavery to prevail once again. During the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) only the prisoners of wars could be kept as slaves. Should we follow the same law and deviate from the Geneva Conventions? Would it have been just to us had India made our prisoners their slaves in the 1971 war on the pretext that it was allowed in our religion?
If such laws were not demolished by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) during his life, it does not mean they were all Islamic. We need to understand the spirit of Islam and make laws accordingly for the present times. Islam clearly states that the consent of both the subjects is necessary for a marriage to take place while they should also be above the puberty age since only a mature boy or girl could take a rational decision regarding his or her marriage. Even though immature marriages took place during the times of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) but that does not provide a license for its practice to this day.
Moreover, it is pertinent to keep in mind that such laws belonged to the times of tribal administration where each tribe was the guardian of the lives and possessions of its tribesmen. All tribesmen were subject to follow the decision of their elders who also provided them security. However, parents could intervene in the matters related to their children. Today, every child is an independent citizen and it is the responsibility of the state to provide them security. In case parents fail to provide justice to their children then the state should interfere.
In old times, a father leaving for long journey would marry all his daughters since it was impossible for him to leave them unattended as the journeys were made on camels and horses while distances were long. The present times have made it possible to fly anywhere within no time. Therefore, the state should establish nurseries and hostels to cater children who are unattended by their parents. The relatives can also play a pivotal role in childcare. Therefore, the old tribal rituals cannot be applied to the present times. It is totally absurd to say that father, leaving for a long journey, could give his daughters in marriage regardless of their age.
The people propagating such laws in Islam are its enemies and it is no more than a conspiracy to project Islam as a dangerous religion in the West. The direct consequence of such publications on the internet threatens the real image of Islam that is, in reality, a religion of blessings. Such publications project Muslims as a pernicious race to the readers. Such debates must be avoided while the laws of the country should be followed in the best of spirits. We cannot put an end to rituals like vani through which an immature girl is given in marriage to a mature man until such steps are not taken. Another question that arises is whether the Saudi marriage official was giving a fatwa against immature girls given in marriage through the vani tradition.
The writer is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and High Court Lahore