The Ruling on Legalizing the Prohibition of Polygamy and Setting a Minimum Marriage Age in Islamic Law

Abstract

This study aims to explore the ruling on legalizing the prohibition of polygamy and setting a minimum marriage age in Islamic law. It does so by clarifying the meaning of these two issues from the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence, examining the views of the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) on them, and analyzing the extent to which Arab countries adhere to Islamic religious legislation or modify their personal status laws to align with the demands of Western organizations. The study follows a descriptive and analytical methodology and concludes with several key findings. Among the most important is that polygamy and the non-delaying of marriage age have various legal purposes in Islamic law. Nevertheless, Islamic law mandates justice among wives and distinguishes between the age of marriage and the age of the ability to consummate the marriage. Therefore, one of the study's recommendations is to establish laws that emphasize the obligation of justice among wives rather than prohibiting polygamy and to create laws that protect the legitimate rights of wives rather than imposing a fixed marriage age. The originality of this study lies in highlighting the differences between the Islamic legal perspective and Western legal views on both polygamy and child marriage, and the impact of this difference on the codification of these two issues in Arab Islamic laws.