When the girl reaches the age of nine...

When the girl reaches the age of nine, she becomes like that too ; and that is because she menstruates at the age of nine.”[^11] And al-Majlisi states: موثق Muwaththaq .[^12] Al-Ruhani too concurs: موثق Muwaththaq .[^13] Al-Kulayni also documents one more shahid : علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، ومحمد بن يحيى، عن أحمد بن محمد جميعا، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن حماد، عن الحلبي عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال: إذا تزوج الرجل الجارية وهي صغيرة فلا يدخل بها حتى يأتي لها تسع سنين. ‘Ali b.

Ibrahim – his father AND Muhammad b. Yahya – Ahmad b. Muhammad – Ibn Abi ‘Umayr – Hammad – al-Halabi – Abu ‘Abd Allah, peace be upon him: When a man marries a girl while she is still immature, then he must not have sexual intercourse with her until she reaches the age of nine .[^14] Al-Majlisi comments: صحيح Sahih .[^15] Al-Ruhani too says: صحيح Sahih .[^16] This hadith – which is about permanent marriages – nonetheless establishes a universal principle: a girl theoretically becomes a woman, capable of having sexual intercourse, at the age of nine.

Therefore, the Shi’i man seeking a mut’ah marriage must himself be at least thirteen years old, while the girl must have reached the age of nine. Otherwise, the mut’ah would be unlawful. Our Shi’i man is above thirteen, alhamdulillah ; and he has his eyes on a particular Muslim woman who is above nine too. So, what must he do next? In our modern, heavily Westernized world, the age of consent has been statutorily fixed in most countries. This is why the Shi’i man must be careful here.

He does not have to get himself into trouble simply because he wants to do mut’ah . Therefore, in fulfilment of the obligations of taqiyyah , he must respect the statutory age of consent in his country of residence. Usually, the man and the woman are considered legally capable of consensual intercourse starting from the age of 18 (eighteen). The Shi’i man, then, must obey that, as long as he has no other trouble-free option. Taqiyyah is indeed a shield, and a blessing, to the believers.

Now, our man lives in a Western(ized) country, and he has been able to find a woman who is eighteen years old or above. In that case, he must confirm the marital status of the woman he intends to do mut’ah with. If she is married – whether in mut’ah or permanently, then she is automatically and absolutely disqualified[^17]. Normally, the man should be able to easily confirm the marital status of the woman through her neighbours, friends or colleagues.