The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 516
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 516 later on. 1 6. In Islām, the announcement of Nikāḥ must be made in public and secret marriages are not permitted. 2 It is for this very purpose of announcement that another obligation prescribed by Islām is that when husband and wife meet for the first time, on this happy occasion, the husband arranges for a feast. According to ones capacity, honourable guests and neighbours, etc. are invited. The term used to describe this feast is a Walīmah. 3 7. If due to some wisdom, the Wal ī or guardian of a boy or girl wishes to marry his child to someone in a state of childhood, i. e. , before he or she reaches an age of maturity this is permitted. 4 On certain occasions, in exceptional circumstances under special wisdoms, the need for this may arise, and the door of legal permission should be left open in this respect. However, in such a case, along with the boy possessing a right, the girl is also at liberty to terminate a relationship of this nature by means of a judge when she reaches an age of maturity. 5 In Islāmic terminology this right is referred to as Khiyārul-Bulūgh. However, one should remember that where we have written that in exceptional circumstances a match may be settled in an era of childhood, this only implies a bond of matrimony by announcement, and intimate relations of husband and wife are not inferred here; the reason being that in order for intimate relations to take place both must have reached an age of 1 * An-Nisā’ (4:2/4) * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābun-Naẓari Ilal-Mar’ati Qablat-Tazwīj, Ḥadīth No. 5126 * Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fin-Naẓari Ilal-Makhṭūbah, Ḥadīth No. 1087 2 * Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī I‘lānin-Nikāḥ, Ḥadith No. 1089 * Al-Muwaṭṭā, By Imām Mālik bin Anas, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Jāmi‘i Mā Lā Yajūzu Minan-Nikāḥ, Ḥadīth No. 1136 3 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Various chapters from Bābul-Walīmatu Haqqun to Bābu Ijābatid- Dā‘iyyi Fil-‘Ursi, Ḥadīth No. 5126 4 * Aṭ-Ṭalāq (65:1-8) * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Inkāḥir-Rujuli Waladahuṣ-Ṣighār, Ḥadīth No. 5133 5 The fundamental principle behind this right has been alluded to in the Holy Qur’ān, where it has been expounded that a woman takes a strong covenant from her husband - refer to An-Nisā’ (4:20- 22). This cannot occur unless a girl has the right to choose whether she desires to maintain the bond of marriage or end it upon reaching an age of maturity, if the marriage has been settled in childhood. Furthermore, refer to Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābun-Nikāḥ, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī Ikrāhil-Yatīmati ‘Alat-Tazwīji, Ḥadīth No. 1109