Forced marriage and Islam

Statistics have shown that a large majority of the victims of forced marriage are Muslim. However, Islam teaches that consent from both man and woman is a must before a marriage can take place. The Qur'an states “O you who have believed, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion ...” (4:19). The Sahih al-Bukhari, one of the most revered sources of hadith (Islamic practice) amongst Islamic scholars, reports the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) as saying: "The widow and the divorced woman shall not be married until her order is obtained, and the virgin girl shall not be married until her permission is obtained." (Bukhari, 67:42). The next chapter of the Sahih al-Bukhari states: "When a man gives his daughter in marriage and she dislikes it, the marriage shall be repudiated" (Bukhari, 67:43). There are further hadiths that provide examples of the Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) cancelling such marriages in which the daughter's consent was not sought.

See: Al-Sahih al-Bukhari, by Abu 'Abdallah Muhammed, Ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari.

Both the Quran and hadiths are clear and unequivocal about the issue of forced marriage therefore it is not an issue of religion, but a cultural practice that violates your right as a woman and as a Muslim. The act of forcing someone to marry is in fact an act that is against the practices and teachings of Islam.