that she would, in her tenth year, conceive during the very first year and give birth to a daughter. Then, when that daughter had completed nine years and married in her tenth, the cycle would repeat: in about (20) years she would have a child at the age of twenty-one, so that the girl’s mother would become a grandmother. Al-Shafi‘i—may Allah have mercy on him—truthfully said, “I once saw a grandmother who was twenty-one years old.”

To sum up, once a child reaches puberty he may not enter the house except after seeking permission; and if he becomes aware of women’s private parts, starts talking about them, and looks at them with desire, a woman is obliged to cover herself from him—even if he is only ten years old. Allah is the One who grants success.