BOOK: Carolyn BAUGH, Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law (Leiden: Brill, 2017). ISBN: 978-90-04-34483-9, €99.00

(Source: Brill)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Series: Studies in Islamic Law and Society, Volume: 41

In Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law, Carolyn Baugh offers an in-depth exploration of 8th-13th century legal sources on the marriageability of prepubescents, focusing on such issues as maintenance, sexual readiness, consent, and a father’s right to compel. Modern efforts to resist establishment of a minimum marriage age in countries such as Saudi Arabia rest on claims of early juristic consensus that fathers may compel their prepubescent daughters to marry. This work investigates such claims by highlighting the extremely nuanced discussions and debates recorded in early legal texts. From the works of famed early luminaries to the “consensus writers” of later centuries, each chapter brings new insights into a complex and enduring debate. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn G. Baugh, Ph.D. (2011), University of Pennsylvania, is Assistant Professor of History at Gannon University. In addition to scholarly articles, she has translated Ibn Khaldūn’s treatise on Sufism, Shifāʾ al-sāʾil fī tahdhīb al-masāʾil for the Library of Arabic Literature.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part One: The Early Formative Era 

Chapter One: Contextualizing and Conceptualizing Minor Marriage 

Chapter Two: The Early Compendia 

Chapter Three: Early Ḥanafī Thought 

Chapter Four: Early Mālikī Thought 

Chapter Five: Al-Shāfiʿī 

Part Two; Consensus, Consensus Writing, Post-Formative Era Writing, and Whether Consensus Matters 

Chapter Six: Consensus 

Chapter Seven: Writing Consensus 

Chapter Eight: Post-Formative Era Thought on Minor Marriage 

Conclusion: Does Consensus Matter? 

Appendix: Excerpts from the Early Compendia 

Bibliography 

Index 

More information with the publisher.