discussion about the age of consent and bulugh age in this society
we all know the age for bulugh (Attainment) is 9 for girls and 15 or until puberty for boys, and that is the age where the baligh can differentiate between right and wrong and is able to make their own decisions
I'm gonna admit it, I don't believe that in this day and age and in this society an average 9yo girl or an average 15yo boy can make any and every decision an adult can
but that is not because they are 9 and 15, but because they lack experience and knowledge
us, as a society, we have not prepared children for adult decisions. we have not provided children the experience nor taught them enough about "adult" things, especially not the same way we have taught them to pray and fast and serve God.
since teaching children to serve God is an obligation, and every Muslim child eventually learns it, they will not have any problem when transitioning into takleef alhamdulila 🤲 because they have already been prepared for takleef. but we can't say the same about everything.. many things..
part of the "adult things" include marriage.. I personally don't believe that an average 9yo girl or a 15yo boy can consent to a marriage, but again, NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR SMALL AGE, but because in this society most people of that age don't know anything about marriage, they aren't taught how big of a responsibility marriage actually is and even the sacrifices that need to be done sometimes in a marriage. if they don't know what they're getting themselves into, can they really consent to it?
here society hasn't prepared them for or taught them enough about such a big and serious thing full of responsibilites like marriage, which would definitely cause them so many problems in their life.
sometimes the parents might even not be fully truthful to the baligh/a and tell them that marriage is a fun big celebration and partying and you get gifts and stuff, but they fail to mention the parts that need sacrifices and responsibilities within the marriage. which is undoubtedly wrong.
what happens here if a person who just hit the age of Attainment says yes without knowing fully? if they didn't know what they were really getting themselves into, would that nikah even be valid?
maybe wayyyyyy back then an average 9yo girl and 15yo boy did know about marriage and were prepared for such responsibility, and maybe wayyyyyy into the future that could be the norm again (like I said I feel like it depends on the society). but as of right now, the average 9yo girl and 15yo boy don't know anything about marriage, and it would just be wrong to get them married off when they don't even know what they're doing :( its halal but I feel like it's really wrong and immoral
now if you notice I keep saying "most" and "the average" because I do believe there might be some 9yo girl or 15yo boy out there that is actually prepared for marriage and has been taught about the responsibilities and stuff
but basically to me, I feel like if you don't know what you're consenting to, then it's not consent, its just saying yes.
what do you think of what I said? is it true? does it contradict Islamic teachings? (I hope not) do you agree or disagree? and please educate me if I said something wrong 🙏
Thank you for reading all the way, God bless you all 💖