“The age of consent to sexual relations is not firmly established in classical Islamic law…” What does consent look like in Islam? Many Muslims have wondered since the consent conversation began to gain ground on college campuses and increasingly in social media discourse. Within non-Muslim discourse the conversation on consent is ill-defined and ongoing —is consent only verbal? What if consent is revoked mid-engagement? At what age can one consent? Can consent be given while one is intoxicated? Should we retroactively hold people accountable for engaging in acts of ‘non-consent’ as defined by current cultural standards? Etc.
While Muslims should always seek to find answers within Islam to current social issues we should also recognize that some conversations are near irrelevant to Islam because it is born out of a world we do not inhabit. As Justin Parrot states in his paper, Age of Consent in Classical Islamic Law, “Sexual relations are religiously unlawful in Islam in the absence of a contract of marriage…” Because of this, the conversation around an ‘age’ of consent is somewhat (though not entirely) irrelevant through an Islamic lens. Unlike within the secular Western context, age is not the most important prerequisite to consent, a marital contract is. Whether someone is young or old they cannot legally —under Islamic law, consent to sex. Sex before marriage is both a sin and a crime.
But, while there is no firm age of consent in Islam there are principled approaches that would suggest certain ages are more appropriate than others and also leave room for societies (and individuals) to decide on their own what age may fit those general principles.
In his paper Parrot states that one overarching principle in judging such matters is, “Do not cause harm or return harm.” While this does not give an absolute regarding age it does give clear guidance that a marriage should not be consummated with one who is unable to engage in intercourse without harm. Parrot cites al-Nawawī of the Shafi school, saying, “If it is not possible for him to have intercourse with her except by harming her, he does not have permission to have intercourse with her.”
It’s also important to note that it is permissible in Islam and common in many cultures to have marital contracts between children —boys and girls (including the unborn), and the marriage consummated later on. “…Islamic jurists generally allowed a marriage to be contracted with a child, but not consummated through sexual intercourse until the child gained puberty or was physically ready to do so.”
While some Muslims may be desperate for Islam to align to the morals of the moment within our current cultural context, we should realize that Islam often calls for a context much different from our own. Not only is sex outside of marriage illegitimate in Islam, but the entire context that leads to sex outside of marriage is also illegitimate —clubbing, dating, touching the opposite sex, drinking alcohol, etc.
Islam does not allow for mere consent as the barrier to sexual relations but marriage with all its rights and responsibilities. While this isn’t specifically a gendered conversation, it is worth saying that the “barrier to entry” within Islam places a higher value on women’s bodies than a society that requires no more than a mutual ‘yes’ of consenting parties. Islam allows for cultural and personal considerations around the age of consent but it also allows us to recognize that engaging in intimacy goes beyond an agreement. It is an act that must be bound in a sacred union in which both parties are responsible for each other beyond mutual pleasure.
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Further Reading/ Sources:
The Age of Consent in Islamic Law by Justic Parrot (Link: https://archive.nyu.edu/handle/2451/62827)
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