H 1594, CH 29, h 7 A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from certain individuals of his people from Salih ibn Hamza in a mafu’ manner from abu ‘Abd Allah, recipient of divine supreme covenant, who has said the following: “To have intense fear of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is part of worship. Allah has said, ‘Of the servants of Allah who fear Him are the scholars.’ (35:28) Allah, Whose praise is great, has said, ‘Do not fear people but fear Me.’ (5:44) Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, has said, ‘For those who fear Allah, He finds a way out (in their difficulties).’ (65:2) “The narrator has said that abu ‘Abd Allah, recipient of divine supreme covenant, then said, ‘Love for fame and popularity (domination) will not exist in the heart of one who has fear and is concerned (about his relation toward Allah).’”
H 10509, Ch. 8, h 2 A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammad and Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father all from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from ibn Ri’ab from Zurarah who has said the following: “Abu Ja‘far, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, has said, ‘Divorce which is not according to Sunnah or not with waiting period does not have any valid effect.’ Zurarah has said that I then asked abu Ja‘far, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, ‘Please explain to me divorce according to Sunnah and divorce with waiting period.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘For divorce according to Sunnah the man must wait until she experiences Hayd (menses) and becomes clean from Hayd (menses). When this happens he can divorce her in the presence of two witnesses without going to bed with her; then he leaves her until she experiences Hayd (menses) twice and her waiting period becomes complete. On her experiencing the third Hayd (menses) she becomes stranger to him. He then is one of those who may propose marriage; if he wants he can marry or not to marry. He must pay her maintenance as long as she is in her waiting period and they inherit each other during the waiting period.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Divorce with waiting period is the divorce which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has mentioned, ‘. . . .divorce them with waiting period and keep a count of the waiting period.’ (65:2) For this kind of divorce if a man wants to divorce his wife he must wait until she experiences Hayd (menses) and become clean of Hayd (menses) then divorce her one divorce in the presence of two just witnesses without going to bed with her. He then can go back to her on the same day if he likes or after several days or before she experiences Hayd (menses). He must have a witness for his going back to her. He can go to bed with her and live with her until she experiences Hayd (menses). When she experiences Hayd (menses) and becomes clean, divorce her in the presence of witnesses without going to bed with her. He then can go back to her again anytime he likes before she experiences Hayd (menses) for the third Hayd (menses). When she becomes clean of the third Hayd (menses) he divorces her in the presence of witness for the third time without sexual intercourse. When he does this she becomes stranger to him and he cannot marry her again before she marries another man.’ He (the Imam) was asked, ‘What happens if she does not experience Hayd (menses)?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘In such case she is divorced according to Sunnah.’”
H 14112, Ch. 3, h 1 A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn abu Najran and Muhammad ibn Ali from abu Jamilah from Jabir who has narrated the following: “Abu Ja‘far, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said this. ‘One may hide a testimony, or testify to invalidate the case of the murder of a Muslim, or to turn away from its rightful course the assets of a Muslim. He on the Day of Judgment will be brought with darkness before him as far as eyes can see, with bruises on his face whom all creatures will know by his name and genealogy. One who presents the right testimony to revive a right of a Muslim, he on the Day of Judgment will be brought with light before him as far as the eye can see, and all creatures will know him by his name and genealogy.’ Abu Ja‘far, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, then said, ‘Have you not seen that Allah, the most Blessed, the most High, says, ‘. . . you must present the testimony for Allah.’ (65:2)”
H 4124, Ch. 1, h 2 Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu ‘Umayr from Hammad from al-Halabiy who has said the following: “I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘. . . if you doubt . . .’ (65:4) He (the Imam) said, ‘Whatever takes place after a month is doubtful.’”
The deviated at heart strike the controversy using the term “and those who did not menstruate” – ( وَاللائِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ – wallaa-ee lam yahidna).
Traditional writers use this part of the verse to mean those who did not menstruate yet. The critical word here, not found in the original Qur’an is “yet”. By this interpretation, it would mean this part of the verse is in reference to girls who have not started menstruation, and therefore, are still below the age of puberty. And since the verse is discussing the process of divorce for them, it must be approving of their marriages. They then propagate that child [forced] marriages of daughters are valid and pious deeds committed by the father. They state explicitly that sexual intercourses with prepubescent girls, by their alleged adult “husbands” is endorsed by Allah in the Qur’an! Therefore, they seek to authorise paedophilia using the Book of Allah. Also, such scenarios are by defaultrapes of children, since children are not developed in sexual awareness and their teachings involves sexual imposition of a man upon a child girl who subsequently surrenders under the circumstances. The traditionalists connect the child bride with their relentless teachings of a wife’s obligation to obey and surrender to the sexual whims of her husband, which only worsens the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. The mindset of these people have been diagnosed in the Qur’an:
“When they commit an indecent act (Fahish / فَاحِشَة), they say, “We found our fathers doing it and Allah commanded us to do it too.” Say: “Allah does not command indecency (fahshaa / فَحْشَاء), or do you say things about Allah you do not know?” (Qur’an, 7:28)
Therefore, there is not the slightest error in expression for the intended meaning. What is explained here is the natural meaning that comes instinctively to the minds of every sincere believer who reads the verse.
The teaching of the permissibility of men having sex with children is a desire of those men who seek such perverted pleasures and have succeeded in gaining approval of their position in religion, and not from the Creator of Mankind. The Creator, Who designed all biological systems and sent the Qur’an in harmony with nature. Paedophilia is not remotely suggested in any Quranic verse, by any stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, the verse regarding all orphans under the care of believers further demonstrates that marriage (and therefore sexual intercourse) is for a person who has gained the ‘adult mindset’:
وَابْتَلُوا الْيَتَامَى حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغُوا النِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ آنَسْتُمْ مِنْهُمْ رُشْدًا
“And test the orphans (to see) that they have reached marriageable (age). If you find them of sound judgement…” (Qur’an 4:6)
This “sound judgement”, or “رُشْدًا” in Arabic to be precise, depicts a state of mind of adult maturity, which refers to the “marriageable age”, “النِّكَاح”, mentioned prior to it. This maturity is something children do not have. Therefore, their construed understanding of the verse from Surah At-Talaq is even more baseless in the Qur’an.
As we know marriage must be agreed and contracted between two adults with their free will and sanity. There can be no marriage between someone who can not freely consent.
Proponents of child-marriages argue if the Qur’an intended to mean those who do notmenstruate in adult age, it would use لَا يَحِضْنَ – laa yahidna, “do not menstruate” (i.e. continuous present) rather than لَمْ يَحِضْنَ – lam yahidna, “did not menstruate” (did not in the past). However, the Quranic choice of the use of the grammatical form “لَمْ يَحِضْنَ – lam yahidna” is highly appropriate. It is referring to the past and present, from the moment they did not commence menstruation when they should have, up till now – i.e. did not and still not menstruating. It does not at all indicate that they are yet to menstruate (and therefore mean young girls). It is just like if one said, “انا لم اشربه / ana lam ashrabuh – I did not drink it”. The person naturally only means by that statement he did not drink it from back then up to this moment, unless someone else suggests on his behalf he will drink it in the future. Just like that, the Qur’an is saying that they did not menstruate from back then up to this moment (never menstruated). The traditionalist interpreters perform the manipulation themselves by suggesting the word “yet” which gives the meaning that they are going to menstruate in the future, something the verse does not suggest. Therefore, there is no reason to assume it is referring to children when reading وَاللائِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ – wallaa-ee lam yahidna – “those who did not menstruate”. To review these points again, the expression:
1) Is referring to the past when they did not start menstruation at their expected age to the present day.
2) Does not suggest “yet” as they claim.
3) Begins after laying the context of adult women. Therefore, “those who did not menstruate” are from the adult view point in reference to them, referring to their past. Reading the Qur’an again, this is obvious:
“And those among your women who despair of menstruation, if you have any doubt, their appointed (waiting) time is three months, and (same) for those who did not menstruate.” (Qur’an 65:4)
H 414, Ch. 32, h5 Through the chain of narrators of the previous Hadith from Yunus has narrated from Hammad from ‘Abd al-A‘la who has said the following: “Once I said to (Imam) abu ‘Abd Allah, recipient of divine supreme covenant, ’May Allah keep you well, Has Allah placed a means in people to know?’ He replied, ‘No, He has not done so.’ I asked, ‘Will He hold them responsible for knowing?’ He said, ‘No, because it is for Allah to explain.’ ‘Allah does not impose on any soul a responsibility beyond its ability . . .’ (2:286) ‘Allah does not impose on any soul that which he cannot afford . . .’ (65:7) “I asked the Imam about the words of Allah in, ‘Allah does not misguide a nation after having given them guidance until the means of piety are made known to them . . .’ (9:115) The Imam said, ‘It (means of piety) means not until He gives the knowledge of what pleases Him and what displeases Him.’”
H 10019, Ch. 152, h 7 Abu Ali al-Ash’ariy has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar or others from ibn Faddal from Ghalib ibn ‘Uthman from Rawh ibn ‘Abd al-Rahim who has said the following: “This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘. . . one who suffers from constraint in his sustenance must spend from whatever Allah has granted him.’ (65:7) He (the Imam) said, ‘He must provide her with basic necessities and clothes, otherwise, judgment for separation between them must be issued.’”
H 12116, Ch. 2, h 12 It is narrated from the narrator of the previous Hadith from Nuh ibn Shu’ayb from certain persons of his people who has said the following: “I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah, ‘Alayhi al-Salam, about the case of a man who is affluent and has a great deal of clothes and very fine ones, palliums, many shirts which are used to extend the life of each shirt and beautify himself; if it is profligacy and lavishness. He (the Imam) said, ‘No, it is not lavishness because Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, says, “The affluent can spend according to his affluent condition.” (65:7)’”