Fatwa ID: 01511

Answered by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question:

Salam wa alaykum. According to various classical scholars, a pre pubescent can be involved in a marriage contract, but the marriage is to be consummated when she reaches puberty. If the iddah for a divorced pre pubescent is 3 months (Surah 65:4), then how come Surah 33:49 says that there is no iddah if the marriage isn't consummated? In short, is there iddah for a divorced pre pubescent or not? If there is, what do scholars say about Surah 33:49? If there is not, then what do they say about Surah 65:4? 

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

It is not necessary that Iddah is only obligatory if the husband has consummated the marriage.  If the husband and wife had “Khalwah Sahihah” i.e. if they were together at a private place without any apprehension of interference by someone and there is nothing to prevent them from having sexual intercourse, this type of privacy (Khalwah Sahihah) carries the same legal consequences as actual intercourse. (Maariful Qur’an p.187 v.7 & Fatawa Hindiyyah p.526 v.1)

The verse in Surah Ahzaab refers to touching in terms of actual sexual intercourse or presumed intercourse in the context of Khalwah Sahihah. The verse in Surah Talaq will refer to divorce to a pre pubescent after Khalwah. 

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham.