A judge at the Court of Cassation in Riyadh has appealed to legal guardians to refrain from rushing young daughters into marriage saying that minors are “unable to understand the seriousness of the responsibility” and that the damage caused by the marriage of minors “outweighs the benefits.” “Marriage is a binding commitment, and guardians who wish to wed daughters of a minor age are advised not to rush into it and to instead wait until they come of age,” said Judge Ibrahim Al-Khudairi. “At the same time we can't prevent a marriage if it fulfills the conditions of Shariah Law, and there are certain circumstances which necessitate marriage, notably if parents fear their children are being led astray or if there are obvious benefits. In such cases marriage is acceptable and permissible,” Al-Khudairi said. “Marriage contracts can be looked into by the judiciary and annulled if, once the girl has reached adolescence, she claims she was forced into it, or failed to adjust to her new life, or that the marriage was damaging to her,” he said. “The marriage should be in the interests of both parties and not result in exploitation.” Judge Al-Khudairi cited verse 21 of Surah Al-Rum in the Qur'an: “And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for people who reflect.” “If the marriage succeeds and there is in the union affection and mercy and no harm results from it to either of the couple, then scholars are in approval,” the judge said. Changing times “Times have changed,” Al-Khudairi added. “As a rule, marriages seem to fail because children are unable to apply the reason required and are not ready for the responsibility. The damage here outweighs the benefits.” The judge's remarks follow renewed controversy sparked by the recent marriage of an 80-year-old man to a 12-year-old in Qassim, a case which is being looked at by a court in the regional capital of Bureidah and which is due to pronounce a verdict on the marriage on Monday. The child's lawyer Saleh Al-Dabibi is calling for an immediate divorce to be issued and for the child's father and husband to be punished. Al-Dabibi says the marriage “does not meet the conditions of legal consent from the bride”, and bases his case on Qur'anic verses citing a “wise and conscientious” guardian for Shariah conditions for marriage to be fulfilled, conditions which, the lawyer says, should lead to the removal of the father as the girl's legal guardian. Al-Dabibi argues that the mother, who is separated from her husband and was not consulted over the marriage of her daughter, should assume full guardianship The 80-year-old husband, who has had three previous marriages, claims that his bride was not forced into marriage. The court heard that he paid a dowry of SR85,000 which the father said had “gone into a savings account” for his daughter. A court official described child marriage in the region as “rare”, noting that this was the only case on the books of courts in Qassim. He added that the Kingdom's only legislative body authorized to enact laws on child marriages in the Board of Senior Ulema (Scholars), and that he expected new laws on the subject to be announced soon. A senior scholar from the Board recently declared that the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to a nine-year-old girl some 14 centuries ago cannot be used to justify child marriages today. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manie said that “circumstances are different today from when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married young Aisha – may Allah be pleased with her”, and that her marriage “cannot be equated with child marriages today because the conditions and circumstances are not the same”. Shoura to look at marriage to foreigners The Security Committee at the Shoura Council, meanwhile, is scheduled to discuss in the next few days the marriage of Saudi nationals to foreigners. “We'll be looking at it from all legal angles, taking on board fatwas issued on the subject as well as legal and social viewpoints,” said the committee chairman Mohammed Abu Saq. “We'll also be looking at legislation on the marriage of foreigners as it exists in other countries, and real-life cases of marriage of Saudis to foreigners while abroad. If possible, we'll call upon Saudis who've married foreigners to tell us of their experiences themselves.” “It's too early to say what will come of the discussions, as out studies are just at the beginning of taking shape,” Abu Saq added.
