Baligh
Encyclopedia
In Islamic legal terminology, Baligh or Bulugh refers to a person who has reached maturity or puberty
and has full responsibility under Islamic law
.
When a girl (1) have her mense or (2) becomes pregnant before her first mense or (3) not having mense and not becoming pregnant but had wet dream (dreaming of sexual intercourse and having pleasure and as a result having discharge) or (4) the first three conditions are not met but she completes her 15 years (lunar year), she will be considered as baligha.
When a boy reaches his puberty (growing pubic hair or having wet dream) or not having such signs but completes his 15 years (lunar year) he is considered as baligh.
For example, in issues pertaining to marriage, baligh is related to the Arabic legal expression, hatta tutiqa'l-rijal, which means that the a wedding may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse
. In comparison, baligh or balaghat concerns the reaching of sexual maturity
which becomes manifest by the menses. The age related to these two concepts can, but need not necessarily, coincide. Only after a separate condition called rushd, or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a girl receive her bridewealth.
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
and has full responsibility under Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
.
When a girl (1) have her mense or (2) becomes pregnant before her first mense or (3) not having mense and not becoming pregnant but had wet dream (dreaming of sexual intercourse and having pleasure and as a result having discharge) or (4) the first three conditions are not met but she completes her 15 years (lunar year), she will be considered as baligha.
When a boy reaches his puberty (growing pubic hair or having wet dream) or not having such signs but completes his 15 years (lunar year) he is considered as baligh.
For example, in issues pertaining to marriage, baligh is related to the Arabic legal expression, hatta tutiqa'l-rijal, which means that the a wedding may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. In comparison, baligh or balaghat concerns the reaching of sexual maturity
Sexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
which becomes manifest by the menses. The age related to these two concepts can, but need not necessarily, coincide. Only after a separate condition called rushd, or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a girl receive her bridewealth.