At a time when many are fighting to end child marriage across the world, a Saudi cleric issued an edict saying that in Islam, it's permissible.

The controversial edict was made by Sheikh Abdullah Al Mane'e, a long-time member of the kingdom's Council of Senior Scholars, during a television appearance. It came in response to a question asked by a viewer.

A short clip of his statement went viral on Twitter over the weekend in which he said:

"There is no specific age for a girl to be married, that's for one. For two, a girl's father is the person who is most entitled to make such a decision for her because he's the person who has her best interest at heart."

"If he finds that a man who proposed to his daughter is acceptable, there is nothing wrong with going ahead with the proposal even if the girl is young," he added.

Al Mane'e also explained that what validates his edict is the fact that examples of child marriage can be found in the Quran.