At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Global / Diaspora
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WomenFamily, marriage and kinship
Summary
In the lexicon, 'anus is a woman whose marriage is delayed after she reaches the age and stays in her family's house; the word is also used of a man whose marriage is late, and its plural is 'unnas 1. The obstruction of a marriage by a guardian can be a cause of a woman remaining unmarried 2. The jurists differ on treating the spinster as a virgin in matters of compulsion and consent: the majority hold she remains like a virgin in the guardian's power to compel her, while some Malikis and Shafi'is treat her like a previously married woman once her virginity is lost 2. The jurists do not fix a single age for spinsterhood; some give a range from twenty to forty, and others refer it to custom 2. The father must maintain an unmarried daughter until she marries 2.
People and things also explored
Obstructing a marriage (adl): the guardian and the husband· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· Maleness (dhukura) as a condition in the rulings· Jāhilī Marriage Forms· The social condition of the Arabs before Islam· Waʾd (Infant Burial)· The custody of Hamza's daughter· The marriage of Fatima and Ali
Sources
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11900
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.11901
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The woman left unmarried (anus) and the rules on her consent and maintenance”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/anus-spinster/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.