(So, I would like you people to forgive me if this post isn't so well structured, I am not used to longer posts such as this one)

One one of the points that come out on top whenever someone criticizes Islam is without a doubt the issue regarding child marriage. And a certain amount of disagreement happened within the Muslim community of this issue between progressives and conservatives. But I would, like to put the points I have forward to present why I think Islam is without a doubt for child marriage.

What does the scripture say?

The most straightforward exemple is verse 65:4: وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ إِنِ ٱرْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَٰثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَٱلَّٰئِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ ۚ وَأُو۟لَٰتُ ٱلْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِهِۦ يُسْرًۭا

In this verse, we are told about 3 distinct categories of women:

وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ: Those who ceased menstruating.

وَاللَّٰئِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ: Those who have never menstruated.

وَأُو۟لَٰتُ ٱلْأَحْمَالِ: Those who are pregnant.

The second category mentioned in this verse, "Those who have never menstruated" has been used historically to mean prepubescent girls. But there is an argument I hear quite often regarding this issue:

This is supposed to talk about women with health issues, not children.

Which is valid criticism. But it sadly does not hold up. Firstly, if this health condition accured later in life, meaning the women used to but does not have the ability to menstruate anymore, it wouldn't match the description. Even more so, if the woman ever had periods to begin with, it would still not match the category due to the wording.

"وَاللَّٰئِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ", the wording here, specifically the use of "لم" as absolute negation instead of "لا" would point to the woman never having their periods to begin with. Making the correct translation "Those who have never menstruated."

But you would be right to point at the fact that some conditions do cause women to never menstruate to begin with. To that, I will reply that the verse talks about broad and usually cases, menopause for "Those who have ceased menstruating" and pregnant women. Conditions that cause women to never menstruate were not simply rare compared to the universal nature of menopause and pregnancy cited in the verse but were outright impossible to diagnose back when the verse appeared. Making the idea of it even being addressed highly improbable. But on the other hand, prepubescent girls are, in fact, an example of individuals who have never menstruated. Not only that, but they are just as universal as pregnancy and menopause which would make it a much more coherent interpretation for this verse.

Al-Qurtubi (Tafsir Al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Qur'an, commentary on 65:4): "This verse establishes that the waiting period applies to those who have not yet menstruated due to young age."

Al-Tabari (Jami' al-Bayan, commentary on 65:4): "The waiting period applies to three groups: the old who have ceased menstruating, the young who have not yet menstruated, and those who are pregnant."

Ibn Kathir (Tafsir Al-Qur'an Al-Azim, commentary on 65:4): "This is the waiting period of the girl who has not yet menstruated because she is too young..."

Opinions of early Scholars:

Scholars in early Islamic history were unanimous when it came to this matter. Child marriage was, in fact, permissible, and this by all 4 Sunni Imams:

Imam Malik: Imam Malik lived and published his book Al-Muwatta within 160 years after Mohamed's death. He affirms that child marriage was, in fact, practiced within Madina and considered this a direct extension of Mohamed's teachings. Medina being the first Islamic society, its legal tradition was the closest thing to Mohamed's teachings, especially in a time frame so short to his death.

Abu-Hanifa; Ibn Hanbal; Al-Shafi'i: All without exception considered the marriage of prepubescent girls to be lawful. All lived within 250 years of Mohamed's death showcasing the practices of early Islamic society.

Ibn Kathir, Al-Tabari, and Al-Qurtubi: All consistently interpreted the verse 65:4 as referring to prepubescent girls.

What about aisha:

Aisha was never 6 years old when she got married. It doesn't fit with what we know of her sister's age and historical accounts.

This doesn't hold up either. The ahadiths about Asma's age relatively to Aisha's are significantly weaker than those about Aisha's age, which are categorized as Sahih and were narrated by Aisha herself.

Secondly, absolutely nobody ever disputed those hadiths within the early Scholars who used both these hadiths and verse 65:4 to prove their point.

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani – Fath al-Bari (Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 7, p. 182)

Al-Nawawi – Sharh Sahih Muslim (Vol. 9, p. 206)

Mental maturity as a requirement:

Some people point at the fact that mental maturity was a requirement for marriage to accur. But it wasn't. In ahadiths about Aisha, the description of her behavior, mainly her playing dolls, showcases her lack of maturity when she got married to Mohamed.

Sahih Muslim (Vol. 4, Hadith 5981 / 1422a): "I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my friends also used to play with me. When the Messenger of Allah entered, they would hide, but he would call them back to play with me."

Or even mentions of her being physically smaller and growing over time alongside the prophet:

Sunan Abu Dawood (Hadith 2578): Aisha said: "The Prophet raced with me, and I beat him. Then, when I grew up and gained weight, he raced with me again, and he won. He said: ‘This makes up for that.’”

Aisha was without a doubt a child when's he got married to mouhamed. The ahadiths being Sahih, the consensus of scholars, and the fact that any significant opposition isn't sustainable makes it even clearer.

Conclusion:

All things considered. There is no way to seriously consider child marriage haram in any way, shape, or form due to early scholars' consensus and textual evidence proving the opposite.

(Thanks for reading this. It is my first post actively diving into a subject like this, I know it isn't perfect, but I hope I made my point clear enough.)