Forced marriages, or marriages without the consent of the bride, are completely wrong and a grave violation of Islamic teachings.
Consent is required from both parties before the marriage can be considered acceptable.
The Holy Quran states (Ch.4: V.19): “…it is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will; nor should you detain them wrongfully…”
The Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) stated: “The widow shall not be married until she is consulted, and the virgin shall not be married until her consent is obtained.”
The actions of the Prophet of Islam further emphasise this teaching. It happened many times that a girl would go to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and say that her father would like her to get married to such and such man and the Prophet (peace be upon him) always gave a decision in favor of the girl.
Sometimes girls do not wish to marry a certain person.
Once a girl came to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked, “Do we women have any rights in making decisions about our marriage?” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Absolutely you do.” She said, “My Father wants to marry me to such an old man.” The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “You are permitted to refuse.” However, that pious girl went on to say, “I only wanted to establish the rights of women, but I do not wish to break my father’s heart as I love him, and so I am willing for this marriage. I just wanted to make sure that women’s rights are safeguarded and that is the reason that I came.” (1)
Islam also requires justice towards others and forbids oppression of any kind (16:90).
No Muslim will ever find any justification for forced marriage from the Holy Quran, Prophet Muhammad’s examples, his sayings, and the examples of his companions. Wherever such practices occur they reflect the patriarchal culture of society which has no link with the teachings of Islam; oppressive behavior of certain Muslims cannot be attributed to Islam when its teaching expound the exact opposite.
References:
- Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1874