What is the recommended age for marriage, Shia view?

Question

Is late marriage good for boys and girls?

What is Islam Commands?

What is God (Islam) Solution?

I ask for Shia view.

Answer 1

You can find an answer here (in Persian); also see this question beside this and this one. But only to give you a starting point for further thinking let me collect some points here in short:

1. What is the ripe age, does this age points to an age that the body is matured or an age that the intellectual power is matured? Which one is wise to be an age for the rules of Religion to become obligated for the person? Which one can be used to determine the age of marriage?

2. According to the verse [78:8] which reads "وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا" (And (have We not) created you in pairs) men and women have been created for each other, then why Allah has placed an initial distance between them? Why being single for a while until marry with each other? Has remaining single any rationality behind it?

3. According to the verse [4:3] which reads "... فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً ..." (... Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one ...) the default number of wives for a man in the view of Allah is more than one. Think about the wisdom behind setting such a default in the creation of men and women, the answers may be quite interesting to you.

4. If regular marriage is not possible then yet another type of marriage --the temporal marriage-- (متعه) is allowed, and encouraged or even obligated if it was necessary. This single rule (or better to say, option) prevents anyone from being able to accuse "I couldn't marry so getting in Zina for me was inevitable" in the Judgement day, as Imam Ali --peace be upon him-- has already mentioned a similar point.

5. think about why a man and woman which are strangers with respect to each other, so that a serious set of rules hold between them and their sexual relations are among the strongest forbidden sins, then why and how a simple dialogue makes them Maharam to each other more than they were with respect to their own families, parents and brothers and sisters. And think why and how their sexual relations now would be so much praised in the view of Allah, among the best rewarded deeds. Why a relation that was forbidden between the strangers now is too praised that marriage is introduced as a Sunnah of the holy prophet --peace be upon him-- that whoever turn back from it is not a Muslim.

And I forgot to add that Islam has no obligation on the age of marriage, neither on its lower limit nor on its higher limit, although there are some requirements about marriage before becoming mature that you can find them in any Fiqh book (I know only about the Shia ones though).

Godspeed.

Answer 2

Islam didn't specify or recommend an age for marriage, however, the only recommendation I remember so far is the ability to support a wife.

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to us: 0 young men, those among you who can support a wife should marry, for it restrains eyes (from casting evil glances) and preserves one from immorality; but he who cannot afford It should observe fast for it is a means of controlling the sexual desire.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ عُمَارَةَ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ لَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ يَا مَعْشَرَ الشَّبَابِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْكُمُ الْبَاءَةَ فَلْيَتَزَوَّجْ فَإِنَّهُ أَغَضُّ لِلْبَصَرِ وَأَحْصَنُ لِلْفَرْجِ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَيْهِ بِالصَّوْمِ فَإِنَّهُ لَهُ وِجَاءٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Read more here

Answer 3

Neither Qur'an nor hadiths say that later is better, and also they do not say that earlier is worse. Unmarried persons should be tried to marry them, according to Qur'an 24:32. But it may be indeed undesired to marry some concrete persons at some concrete time/situation, for different/various reasons, in that case, final decision, to marry, or not to marry, is made by them and, if required, by their parents or custodian/curator/guardian, (permissions of all of them are required to marry).

Answer 4

What is the recommended age for marriage from a Shiite point of view? Because the actions and manners of the infallibles (pbuh) are a model for us, we must follow those nobles in determining the age of marriage. According to the verses, hadiths and manners of the Infallibles (PBUH), the age of marriage for girls is after 9 years and for boys is about 20 years. According to Imami jurisprudence, reaching the age of puberty is not enough for the eligibility of marriage, but in addition, a girl and a boy must be mature; That is, they can recognize their expediency, so that they can enter into marriage independently and voluntarily. Growth in marriage means competence and competence to manage life.

Ref: https://www.pasokh.org/fa/Book/View/43/1701/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%DA%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AA