Full age in islam

A lot of books about hadiths and fiqh talk about many ways of describing the full age in islam.

a)sexual ripeness

There is a consensus of the ulema (ijma) that the sexual ripeness for men begins with the first outflow of sperm (while a person is sleeping). Women begin their full age with their first menstruation. Imams Ahmed, Ebu Davud and Hakim quote the hadith from Muhammed a.s.:

»There are three persons, whos deeds aren't put down: to a child till his full age…«

b)years

Imam Ebu Hanife says that full age is reached, when a boy is 18 years old and a girl 17 years. Most of the ulema says that men and women are equal in full age, which is 15 years. This is a judgment of two imams: Jusuf and Muhammed. For this decision they used the hadith ob Ibn Omer, who tells us:

»I offered myself to the Prophet a.s. like a volunteer in the battle on Uhd, when I was 14 years old and he refused. So I offered myself like a volunteer on Hendek and he refused.«

Bejhaki has an addition:

»He refused, because he considered I didn't reach full age.«

Ibn Huzejme marks this addition as correct and he is a clear proof and confirmation of jumhur (of majority).

If the signs of sexual ripeness don't show then majority begins, when a person reaches a fixed number of years.

As the third way of defining the full age ulema cites:

c) hair around the genitals

One of the ways of defining the full age is growing hair around the genitals. About this fact speaks a hadith, in which is described the proceeding of the judgment to a Beni Kurejze tribe, who had betrayed the Prophet a.s.:

»We were brought to the Prophet a.s. after the battle. The judgment was:

Who had hair around the genitals was judged to death, but those who hadn't were liberated, because they were marked as under aged. I was one of them and so I was freed.«

For this hadith Ibni Hibban and Hakim say that it is reliable and that reaches the standards of Buhari and Muslim.

teem HAQ