Marriage

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

"Reciting Salawath on our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is an activity that will be accepted by Allah, even if we don't have Ikhlas (piety)".

Marriage. Marriage is the union of two souls for love and two bodies for procreation and legalizing of children. Man is free and therefore, it is argued, that he can claim a free intercourse with every woman. If this theory is accepted, it will mean disorder and chaos in the society leading ultimately to destruction of human civilization. In that case he is nothing but only a beast. The limitation to free love and free intercourse by marriage is for the ultimate benefit of human development as a whole and particularly for the progress of human civilization. Marriage engenders love at first for wife, then for children, then for kith and kin, then for the society and ultimately for the human race as a whole. The real unit of human civilization is the family and there can be no family if there is no marriage. ‘Free Love’ creates no responsibility, the ownership of property and no kith and kin. If free love is allowed indiscriminately and lasts for nearly a century, the world will be field of chaos, blood-shed and social disorder of the first magnitude.

Benefits of Marriage. Marriage contributes to manly-sided progress of a man, physical, mental, social, moral and spiritual. In an unmarried stage, these things cannot be achieved in all perfections. There is therefore a great deal of distinction between a bachelor and a married man, or an unmarried woman and married woman.

(1) Physical Benefit. We see daily around us how a man was erewhile sickly and suffering from various diseases but as soon as he got married, his diseases generally disappeared with in a short time. This is also true in case of girls and women. Marriage is, therefore the best medicine for certain kinds of diseases in grownup men and girls. It also contributes to the physical beauty of the married couple.

(2) Mental Benefit. Marriage gives peace of mind. The Holy Quran Says: And out of this signs there is that He creates mates for you from yourselves, that you may find peace of mind in them; and He put between you and compassion. Surely there are sign in this for a people who reflect (33:21). By marriage, an idle man is turned into an active man, a spend thrift prugal and hard-hearted kind. It is therefore a harbinger of new thoughts, ideas, responsibilities and obligations. It sets up the mind to and actions which were dormant before marriage.

(3) Social Benefit. Marriage creates a family consisting of children and wife. Families create society and the progress of the family means the progress of the society. Marriage creates a new company of kith and kin, because sons and daughters to create new families. Hospitalities, fellow-feeling, kindness and mutual help become binding among these relations. Marriage therefore gives the rights of inheritance and ownership in property to the nearest relations. The Quran says: And He ii is who has created man from water, then He has made for him blood and marriage relationships – 25:54 Q.

(4) Moral Benefit. Marriage is a great medicine for checking unruly sexual passions and falling to sins and crimes. The Holy Prophet said: It shuts up eye-sight and guards private parts (17:1). It is well-known that out of sexual passions, many great sins are committed in this world. If it is satisfied by marriage, many a crime will disappear from this world. It contributes thus no moral welfare of individuals, families and societies.

(5) Spiritual Benefit. Moral progress leads to progress which then leads ultimately to the Blessed Company.

Harms of Marriage. The following are some of the harms that may possibly arise out of marriage.

(1) The married man becomes rather weak in lawful earnings as he is required to meet the increased needs of the family life.

(2) He is to look after the maintenance, education and other necessary things of the family which he was not bound to do before marriage.

(3) A great strain is put upon him by the wife and the members of the family in the form of suffering and mental anxieties in many ways.

What is true renunciation? Is it not to marry? The answer is simply an emphatic no. The instinct of parsion is provided by nature not only in man but all animals, so that by procreation of children and animals, the world can go on from years to years. Go against nature and you will certainly pay the penalty of your rash action. See Plants. They are provided with flowers and with portion like generative organs. Insects come, dive inside flowers to gather honey, come out covered with some powder called ‘Pollen’ and go unto other flowers mixing pistol into them and thus there arises fecundation of seeds. All the religious personalities except Jesus Christ were married to one woman or more. Once three men praying throughout the night and fasting all day long come to the Holy Prophet. He instructed them to marry in order to have perfection. True renunciation is to marry and then to remain aloof from attachment of the world.

Marriage in Islam. A Muslim marriage is a civil contract based on mutual consent of the bride and bridegroom, as distinguished from the sacramental form of marriage. Most of the incidents of contract and consequently applicable to such a marriage, for example, consideration of marriage in the form of dower, breach of the contract by divorce, giving of legal rights and obligations on the contractual parties and bestowing no greater power on the husband that what the contract provides in a lawful manner. A Muslim marriage requires no priest and no sacramental rights. At the best, the registration of mutual consent may be done. A woman has got absolute right in he acquired properties before and after her marriage. In addition, she has a distinct lien upon her husband’s property for her ante-nuptial settlements.

Nature of Injunctions for Marriage. The Quran gives the order of marriage in following verse: And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and female slaves. If they are needy, Allah will save them from want out of His grace. And Allah is Ample-giving, Kind. And tell those who do not find a match to keep Chaste until Allah makes them from went of His grace – 24:30 Q. It appears from the above verses that marriage is the natural law. It may be delayed for two reasons, for not finding a suitable match and for finding no means wherewith to maintain her. If the conditions are removed with the finding a match and also the means of maintenance. God’s direction is then to contract a marriage. The reason given is “that you may not deviate from the right course” – 4:3 Q. The jurists have, however, laid down the following rules. When the sexual passion is strong that there is every chance of a man falling into sin, marriage then become Farz (binding). When the sexual passion is very strong, marriage is Wajeb. When the passion remains in normal degree, it is Sunnat Muakkadah. Marriage becomes Makruh when there is no means of maintenance and when no suitable match is found.