The Torah on 'Marrying Daughters at an Early Age'

I noticed on one of your pages, responding to some claims about the Bible from the hadiths, a hadith in which the Prophet (sAas) quoted the Torah to say that daughters should be married off soon after age twelve. Obviously, this statement does not appear in the Torah of today or even the Old Testament. However, it is interesting to note the following:

From 'Everyman's Talmud' by Abraham Cohen, page 162: "With regard to a girl, it was urged that the father's duty was to secure a husband for her at an early age. The verse 'Profane not thy daughter to make her a harlot' (Leviticus 19:29) was applied to a man 'who delays in arranging a marriage while she is of suitable age' (Sanhedrin 76a). She was considered to have arrived at this stage when she passed her twelfth birthday"

The statement of the Prophet (sAas) seems clearly to be based on the above. Therefore, it appears that the Prophet (sAas) was not quoting the Torah directly, but was quoting an interpretation of a verse that DOES appear in the Torah, as given by Jewish scholars. It is also possible that it was presented to the Prophet (sAas) as a statement in the Torah rather than as the interpretation of the Torah [1]. Allah SWT knows best.

I hope this information is of use, inshallah.

Ramadan kareem

Laura M. Poyneer

[1}- It is also possible that:

• This part of the Talmud had somehow become incorporated in the Torah, which was read and followed by the Jews in Arabian Peninsula during the times of the Prophet;
• The word Torah, in the narrative ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) was used rather liberally, also applying to the laws generally followed by the Jews. (Moiz Amjad)