Investigating the Islāmic Position on Child Marriage: The Ghanaian Community in Perspective

Abstract

Child marriage is a sensitive subject that raises emotions in our contemporary society, and the claim that Islām violates the rights of children by advocating for their marriage at tender ages is a wild and unsubstantiated claim that requires clarification. This research sought to correct the perception of Ghanaians regarding the subject matter. The Ghanaian Muslim community is divided into two extreme views: those who have accepted the allegation due to their lack of understanding of the basic tenets of Islām on marriage, and those who have misconstrued the legal texts to support their cultural practices.

With the use of a problem-solving approach and content analysis of the various legal texts from the Quran and the Sunnah of the noble Prophet (peace be upon him), as well as the jurisprudential stipulations of marriage by renowned Muslim scholars, this research paper examined and established the true position of Islām on child marriage. It was established that the misconception was a result of the misapplication of legal texts on one hand, and the misconstrued understanding of early marriage to mean child marriage on the other, as well as differences in the definition of a child from the perspective of Islāmic law and that of the secular.

It was further revealed that many of the statutory policies enacted by the country rather violate the rights of its citizens by allowing girls to consent to sex out of wedlock without recourse to permission from parents or guardians, which has also led to the dilemma of increased crime and insecurity due to the continuous influx of street children in the country. This research was relevant to absolve Islām from the unsubstantiated allegations of abetment and to awaken the Ghanaian Muslim community to push for the review of laws that promote promiscuity and expose young men and women to perilous situations.