Q343 :Some old men in their seventies marry young
girls who are still in their early twenties or younger. Do you think
that there is some injustice done to such young women? Is there any
remedy to such a situation?
A343 : There is certainly much injustice if the girl
is forced to accept such a marriage. It does happen that a wealthy old
man proposes to a young woman and her family review the marriage as a
method which could rid them of their poverty. They persuade or force
their daughter to accept the marriage caring very little for her
feelings or her future. If the case is such, then it is a case of
blatant injustice and it should be stopped. On the other hand, if the
girl goes into such a marriage with open eyes and with full agreement,
then the marriage is simply a contract between two netpetent persons.
Since it is a contract to something which is halal or permissible in
Islam, it is perfectly permissible. It may be that the girl goes into
such a marriage hoping to have a good share of the inheritance of her
husband. This does not disallow or invalidate the marriage, because
neither she nor anyone else could tell how soon the man would die. It
is perfectly possible that she dies before him. The remedy to such a
situation is the full implementation of Islam, which means that no
family should live in a standard of poverty which netpels it to marry
away its girls to rich old people to improve their situation. In Islam,
the system of social security ensures that.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )