1. How Young is Too Young For Marriage?
Europe had 4 yr olds married to 7 yrs
4 years? - 9years? - 7years? babies too?
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Until the year 2008 C.E. (Common Era, anyone under 18 years old could get married
in the state of Arkansas with parental consent. That's right, even babies could get
married as long as their parents agreed. The original law was meant to allow pregnant
teenagers to get married if their parents approved, but later embarrased law makers made
it 17 for boys and 16 for girls.
And that is just the beginning!
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Weird Marriage Laws
Obscure Marriage Laws in Europe & U.S.
Marriage in Olde Europe & early America was only 4 years to 7 years (common was 9 years
to 12 years). Keep reading this whole article - then at the end we'll give you the REAL
PROOF about Ayesha's age at marriage to prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: Islam is
the truth!
Now read, if you will, important information from historical records and documents about
marriages of different ages in Rome, Europe and America over the last 2,000 years.

2. In this article we discover that even in our ancestors here in America the age of consent was
much different than what we have today. -- Read:
AGE OF CONSENT FOR MARRIAGE IN WESTERN HISTORY
For the Last 2,000 years
1 C.E. -- 12 years to 14 years (Augustus Ceasor) Traditionally the age at which
individuals could come together in a sexual union was something either for the family to
decide or a matter of tribal custom.
Probably in most cases this coincided with the onset of MENARCHE in girls and the
appearance of pubic hair in boys, that is, between twelve (12yrs) and fourteen (14yrs),
but the boundaries remained fluid.
In Republican Rome, marriage and the age of consent were initially private matters
between the families involved. Not until the time of Augustus in the first century C.E.
did the state begin to intervene. Marriage then legally became a two-step process, a
betrothal which involved an enforceable agreement between the heads of two households,
and then marriage itself.
Women who were not yet of age could be betrothed with the consent of their fathers, but
the woman herself had to consent to marriage. (Editor: This was still true in the 600's in
Arabia; fathers could contract a marriage for their immature daughters of any age - even
without their consent. However, when Islam came, girls had to be old enough for
marriage [past puberty] and accept the proposal).
400-700 C.E. -- Puberty age! The Roman tradition influenced peoples and cultures
with whom it had come in contact. In the Islamic tradition following Muhammad, an
offer of marriage by the parents could take place earlier than PUBERTY, but the
marriage was not to be consummated until the girl accepted the marriage proposal, had
reached the age of menstruation and was old enough to comprehend and understand the
concept of marriage and wanted to be married to the one her parents had chosen.
1100-1300 C.E. -- 12 to 14 years- In medieval Europe, Gratian, the influential founder
of Canon law in the twelfth century, accepted the traditional age of puberty for marriage
(between 12 and 14) but he also said consent was "meaningful" if the children were older
than seven. Some authorities saidconsent could take place even earlier.
Such a marriage would be permanent as long as neither party sought annulment before
reaching puberty (12 for girls and 14 for boys) or if they had already consummated the
marriage. Even if the husband had technically raped his wife before she reached puberty,
the marriage was regarded as consummated. It was this policy which was carried over
into English common law, and although consent was necessary, force and influence or
persuasion seemed to have been permissible elements. Similarly Gratian's ideas about
age became part of European civil law.
1200's C.E. -- When historian Magnus Hirschfeld surveyed the age of consent of some
fifty countries (mostly in Europe and the Americas) at the beginning of the twentieth
century, the age of consent was twelve (12yrs) in fifteen countries, thirteen (13yrs) in
seven, fourteen (14yrs) in five, fifteen (15yrs) in four, and sixteen (16yrs) in five.
In the remaining countries it remained unclear.

3. 1500 C.E. -- The age of consent in both English and continental law seemed to be
particularly elastic when property was involved or family alliances were at stake. For
example in 1564, a three (3) year old named John was married to atwo (2) year
old named Jane in the Bishop's Court in Chester, England. Though Shakespeare set
his Romeo and Juliet in Verona, the fact that Juliet was thirteen (13) probably reflects
the reality in England. Her mother, who was twenty-six (26), calls her almost an old
maid. [EDITOR'S NOTE: That means her mother conceived her when she was
herself only 12 and was probably married at age 11yrs.]
1500 - 1600's C.E. -- 6 yrs to 7 yrs Or even 2 yrs & 3 yrs. in U.K. The only reliable
data on age at marriage in England in the early modern period comes from Inquisitions
Post Mortem (after death) which involved only those who died and left property. It
appears that the more complete the records, the more likely it is to discover young
marriages. Judges honored marriages based on mutual consent at age younger than
seven (7), in spite of what Gratian had said, and there are recorded marriages of two (2)
and (3) three year olds. The seventeenth-century lawyer Henry Swinburne distinguished
between the marriages of thoseunder seven (7) and those between seven (7) years and
puberty. He wrote that those under seven (7) who had said their vows had to ratify it
afterwards by giving kisses and embraces, by laying together, by exchanging gifts or
tokens, or (just) by calling each other husband or wife.
1500's C.E. -- BABIES in Diapers! A contemporary, Philip Stubbes, wrote that in
sixteenth-century East Anglia, infants still in swaddling clothes (diapers) were married.
1600's C.E. -- 4 yrs. & 9 yrs. -- The most influential legal text of the seventeenth
century in England, that of Sir Edward Coke, made it clear that the marriage of
girls under twelve (12) was normal, and the age at which a girl who was a wife was
eligible for a dower from her husband's estate was nine (9 years old) even though her
husband be only four (4) years old.
1600 C.E. -- The American colonies followed the English tradition but the law could at
best be called a guide. For example in Virginia in 1689, Mary Hathaway was only nine
(9 years) when she was married to William Williams. We know of her case only because
two years later she sued for divorce, and was released from the covenant she had made
because the marriage had not been consummated. Interestingly, historian Holly Brewer,
who discovered the case, speculated that if William had raped Mary, she probably would
not have been given the divorce.
1700-1800 C.E. -- 14 year old WIDOW? -- Unrecorded are marriages without parental
consent and private weddings and the quality of data varies from region to region. For
example in the parish of Middlesex County, Virginia, there is a record of fourteen (14)
year-old Sarah Halfhide marrying twenty one (21) year-old Richard Perrot. Only in the
last sentence of the register does it indicate that she was a widow. Did the compiler read
that far?We simply do not know what her age at first marriage was, or even if it had been
consummated.
Of the ninety-eight girls on the ten-year register, three probably married at age eight (8
years), one at twelve (12 years), one at thirteen (13 years), and two at fourteen (14 years).

4. 1900-2000 C.E. -- 9 years old -- Historians in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
have sometimes been reluctant to accept data regarding young ages of marriage, holding
instead that the recorded age was a misreading by a later copier of the records. Natalie
Davis, whose book The Return of Martin Guerrebecame a movie, made her heroine,
Bertrande, much older than the nine old girl she was when she married her missing
husband.
1800's C.E. -- 13 years old -- In the nineteenth century France issued the Napoleonic
Code and many other countries, following France's example, began revising their laws.
The Napoleonic Code, however, had not changed the age of consent and remained
THIRTEEN (13yrs).
1800's C.E. U.S.A. -- Babies to 10 years? In England and the United States, feminist
agitation in the late nineteenth century called attention to the young age (babies to pre-
puberty) of consent and called for changes in the law. By the 1920s the age of consent, a
state issue in the United States, was raised in every state and ranged from
fourteen (14yrs) to eighteen (18yrs), with most states settling on sixteen (16yrs) or
eighteen (18yrs).
2000 A.D. -- 14 years to 16 years -- In the last part of the twentieth century the U.S.
public once again took note of age of consent issues. Although sometimes it is not
possible to identify a single age of consent since the statutory age varies with the age of
the defendant and with the particular sexual activity, in the United States as of 2000 the
age at which a person may engage in any sexual conduct permitted to adults within a
particular state ranges between fourteen(14 years) to eighteen (18 years) [without
marriage]. In the vast majority of states the age is either fifteen (15yrs) or
sixteen (16yrs).
2000 A.D. to Date -- Under 18 years -- Most states set the minimum age for marriage
without parental approval at eighteen (18yrs), and there are elaborate provisions
governing which parent must give consent and who qualifies as a custodial parent or
guardian when marriage under eighteen (17 & less) takes place.
NOW - TODAY in U.S.A.: -- BEFORE PUBERTY? -- There are still contradictions as
to the age of consent for marriage from state to state. Some states allow a minor to marry
with parental permission (EVEN) at an age(BEFORE) the minor engaged is old enough
for sexual activity. While other states allow a minor to engage in sexual activity years
before he or she can get married EVEN without the parents approval.
So, why the arguement over age of consent between scholars? The problem is in the
research. It is far more variable than a summary of the law seems to imply. Peter Laslett,
for example, used available statistics to argue marriage and child bearing in the late teens
was not common in England and marriage at twelve(12yrs) was virtually
unknown. (Legal documents, records and sworn testamonies indicate otherwise)
The problem is that his statistics might well be skewed because in England only a small
portion of marriages were registered, and even on these registrations it is difficult to tell
if they recorded first or second or later marriages.

5. A second marriage by a man in his late fifties or a woman in her early thirties skews the
data. Not all marriage records even bother to record the participants' age.
* (Emphasis added by editor)
Where did we get this? Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and
Society :: A-Ar
Now the proof about 'Age of Consent' in Islam & Ayesha's marriage to the prophet, peace be
upon him:
623 C.E. (10 A.H. after hijrah) -- Must be old enough and mature enough for marriage and
child bearing. Ages of marriage in Islam can be simply understood to be, the lawful, mutual
consent of physically mature adults to engaging in intimate sexual activity with expectation
of producing children.
But before we go into the "Age of Consent" for marriage, we would like to mention
something about marriage in Islam in general and about the age of Ayesha, wife of prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him.
First, Islam does not allow marriage to underaged children. (Reference: Quran, chapter 4,
verse 2 and verse 19).
Second, Islam does not permit forced marriages for anyone (Reference: Quran, chapter 2,
verse 256, & Surah An-Nisaa' chapter 4, verse 19).
Refer to www.Qtafsir.com ibn Kathir tafsir, surah An-Nisaa:
19. O you who believe! Do not inherit women against their will, nor prevent them from
marriage in order to get part of (the dowry) what you have given them, unless they
commit open Fahishah. And live with them honorably. If you dislike them, it may be that
you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good.
20. But if you intend to replace a wife by another and you have given one of them a
Qintar, take not the least bit of it back; would you take it wrongfully without a right and
(with) a manifest sin.
21. And how could you take it (back) while you have gone in unto each other, and they
have taken from you a firm and strong covenant
22. And marry not women whom your fathers married, except what has already passed;
indeed it was shameful and Maqtan, and an evil way.
Third, All marriages must be by mutual consent, and must be to adults of opposite sex.
Fourth, Legal marriages must be written contract with witnesses (even back 1,400 years ago)
Fifth, A dowry must be given by men to women and women.
Sixth, Marriage proposals can be offered by parents on behalf of their children, or through
second parties selected by individuals, or can be made directly by individuals. But, there is
nothing binding without full acceptance of both people.

6. Additionally, there can be no coercion nor force nor intimidation to obtain compliance in
marriage. Women must not be subjected to oppression nor deprived of their wealth in any
way.
It is a clear fact, in Islam, men must financially provide for all the needs of the woman and
family, while the woman is not obliged to give even one cent for the man or the family.
Muslims and Non-Muslims alike seem very concerned over the age of Ayesha, may Allah be
pleased with her, when she married the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Some authentic sources put her ages at 9 years old, while others state she was in fact, 16 and
had been engaged to be married even before her marriage to Muhammad, peace be upon him.
More important are the number of important facts involved indicating this was in fact, very
normal at their time in history both in the Arab culture and European culture as well.
One important fact is, Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, was offered in marriage to his
best friend since childhood, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, peace be upon him. Emphasis
is on the word - "marriage". So this was a legal, binding contractual agreement; one that was
considered quite proper and acceptable to the people of this time period. Never was an
eyebrow raised or any point discussed on this issued amongst any of the companions or
enemies of Islam, for that matter.
Another most convincing fact is, Ayesha had already been engaged prior to her father
offering her in marriage to Muhammad, peace be upon him.
The single most important fact of all is what Ayesha herself says about her marriage to the
prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. She tells us in over 2,200 hadeeth (narrative
information) how much she loved him, believed in him, trusted him and followed him
throughout her whole life. Ayesha loved Muhammad, peace be upon him, with a love that
lived on after he was gone from this earth. She remembered him in her prayers day and night,
every single day until her own death.
Her goal, as is the goal of each and every one of us Muslims, was to be with prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the Next Life, in the highest level of Paradise, near to
Almighty God.
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