Will a woman be held accountable after the age of fifteen if she has not yet menstruated?
If the signs of puberty do not appear in a male or female until the age of fifteen, then they are considered to have reached puberty. This is the view of the majority of scholars. Their evidence is the of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) allowed him to fight on the day of Al-Khandaq when he was fifteen years old, after having sent him back on the day of Uhud when he was fourteen. As for the Malikis, they hold that the age of puberty, in the absence of signs, is eighteen years. Abu Hanifa, in another narration, held it to be eighteen years for a boy and seventeen years for a girl. The preponderant opinion is the first one (15 years). The wisdom behind this is that this age marks the beginning of the age of marriage and the arousal of desires, which necessitates accountability for self-control.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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