TABUK: A secondary school in the Al-Ula governorate recently organized a party during its open day to celebrate the marriage of a 17-year-old student, triggering concern among some marriage officials.
According to local media, the student of King Abdulaziz secondary school got married to his 16-year-old cousin with parental consent.
“We celebrated the marriage of one of our students in a mini party. The student, Mohammed Al-Bediwi, was presented with gifts from teachers, administrators and colleagues,” Mohammed Al-Khalidi, principal of the school, was quoted as saying.
The boy’s father said early marriage is important because the father and children can grow up together. “Mohammed signed the marriage contract with his cousin,” he added.
Radwan Al-Radwan, a marriage official, said marrying at this age is allowed from the Shariah point of view, but some young men do it to become famous and attract attention. This means their elders should guide and help them to stay in the marriage and not end up in divorce, he said.
Mazoon Faisal Al-Omrani, another marriage official, refused to comment on the issue, saying that such matters should be referred to scholars and sheikhs to get a fatwa.
He, however, added that he would have refused to sign the marriage contract for a boy of 17 and a girl of 16. “The Mazoon (marriage official) should see the girl and make sure she agrees to the marriage. For a man to get married, he has to meet two conditions — he should pass a training in dealing with marriage and the financial condition of his father should be good.”

SOURCE:   http://arabnews.com/content/marriage-student-17-raises-eyebrows