Skipper, I'll address your comments in steps:
1. If you were to suddenly start fucking a nine-year-old, then yes, that would make you a pedophile based on today's understanding of the term "pedophile." But to me, it mainly depends on what counts as "fucking" a nine-year-old.
2. The main concern here is state of mind, agreement, and situation. Putting numbers on the age of marriage and sex is unrealistic to those who want to marry young. The marriage contract, like any other contract, is validated and legitimate in Islam when both parties consent and are in a state of full comprehension of the situation. For example, supposing a 16 year old wants to marry a 17 year old, there should be no problem. Likewise, supposing an 18 year old wants to marry a 50 year old, again there should be no problem and under an Islamic state this is a legitimate practice. It is important to recognize that when we talk of any form of marriage, be it to a 10 year old or to a 80 year old, we are strictly speaking of consensual marriage with comprehension.
3. I'm 24 and I've never had a sexual encounter in my life, and I certainly wouldn't want to do this with a 10 year old girl, since that is not my mentality. Nevertheless, that was the mentality of people who lived in Arabia long time ago. Marriages at young age was the norm rather than an anomaly in certain societies. We need to realize that our times are considerably different with terms of societal life with the life of the Arabs 1,400 years ago. For those who live in the west, we're used to seeing 10 year old's playing with barbies, but this is not the case in other countries. In poor rural areas, children from the age of 6 and onwards are taught to work, to clean, and to cook. This means that by the time they reach the age of 13 getting married and having sex is considered as something normal for them because of their situation. Children would mature at a faster rate than children of today and would be taking care of their entire family at an age where kids nowadays are still running around carefree busy with fun and games.
4. The fact that it is permissible to marry a young girl does not mean that it is permissible to have intercourse with her; rather that should not be done until she is able for it. The marriage may be consummated when the girl is able for intercourse - which varies from one girl to another - and that's why no age limit can be set. I believe that this is what happened with Muhammad and Aisha (though there is still doubts about the consummation). If she was able for intercourse and if she was mature enough, then I wouldn't word it as "fucking a nine-year-old," as you did, making it sound like he did a horrible thing (without proof).
Having said that, I may not continue this discussion for too long. I think it's starting to drag and it's becoming repetitive. I'll make shorter responses from now on because I've pretty much said everything that I had in mind. Thanks for your contributions anyways (and to everyone else).
1. If you were to suddenly start fucking a nine-year-old, then yes, that would make you a pedophile based on today's understanding of the term "pedophile." But to me, it mainly depends on what counts as "fucking" a nine-year-old.
2. The main concern here is state of mind, agreement, and situation. Putting numbers on the age of marriage and sex is unrealistic to those who want to marry young. The marriage contract, like any other contract, is validated and legitimate in Islam when both parties consent and are in a state of full comprehension of the situation. For example, supposing a 16 year old wants to marry a 17 year old, there should be no problem. Likewise, supposing an 18 year old wants to marry a 50 year old, again there should be no problem and under an Islamic state this is a legitimate practice. It is important to recognize that when we talk of any form of marriage, be it to a 10 year old or to a 80 year old, we are strictly speaking of consensual marriage with comprehension.
3. I'm 24 and I've never had a sexual encounter in my life, and I certainly wouldn't want to do this with a 10 year old girl, since that is not my mentality. Nevertheless, that was the mentality of people who lived in Arabia long time ago. Marriages at young age was the norm rather than an anomaly in certain societies. We need to realize that our times are considerably different with terms of societal life with the life of the Arabs 1,400 years ago. For those who live in the west, we're used to seeing 10 year old's playing with barbies, but this is not the case in other countries. In poor rural areas, children from the age of 6 and onwards are taught to work, to clean, and to cook. This means that by the time they reach the age of 13 getting married and having sex is considered as something normal for them because of their situation. Children would mature at a faster rate than children of today and would be taking care of their entire family at an age where kids nowadays are still running around carefree busy with fun and games.
4. The fact that it is permissible to marry a young girl does not mean that it is permissible to have intercourse with her; rather that should not be done until she is able for it. The marriage may be consummated when the girl is able for intercourse - which varies from one girl to another - and that's why no age limit can be set. I believe that this is what happened with Muhammad and Aisha (though there is still doubts about the consummation). If she was able for intercourse and if she was mature enough, then I wouldn't word it as "fucking a nine-year-old," as you did, making it sound like he did a horrible thing (without proof).
Having said that, I may not continue this discussion for too long. I think it's starting to drag and it's becoming repetitive. I'll make shorter responses from now on because I've pretty much said everything that I had in mind. Thanks for your contributions anyways (and to everyone else).
