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| Marriage in Islam |
In light of modern day, what is marriage? What does it mean? The Collins
Paperback English Dictionary states under the heading of marriage:
‘The contract made by a man and a woman to live as husband and wife’.
The Hutchinson Encyclopedia states: ‘..legally or culturally sanctioned union..’. So, according to the dictionary and the encyclopedia marriage is supposed to be a relationship that joins a man and a woman together via a contract. When one looks at what marriage actually is in this modern era of the world one finds a completely different picture. It seems as though modern couples sign the contract with a get-out-whenever-you-like-upon-trivial-matters clause, which enables both the husband and the wife to scrap their marriage contracts and break their marriage oaths whenever they feel like leaving their partner and move on.
Marriage is supposed to tie a man and a woman together and strengthen their
relationship. Today the world is seeing a new era where marriage is no longer considered necessary or even significant for a
relationship. Islam has laid down rules and regulations for marriage and has
considered marriage an important and essential part of a Muslim’s life. This
lack of understanding has in itself caused behaviour prohibited in Islam such
as masturbation, sexual relationships/encounters outside of Nikah
(marriage), etc which are increasing day by day. I will attempt to unfold
these issues using The Holy Quran and the saying of the messenger of Allah: Muhammad( PBUH )
- Marriage in Islam
Marriage is a vital part of a Muslim’s life. In fact
marriage is so important in the religion of Islam that it is declared to be one
half of one’s faith. As a Muslim one should live in accordance with the Islamic
Jurisprudence in the way shown by the greatest of creations and the person who
was the greatest impact on mankind in the existence of the universe, The Holy
Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH ).
The Prophet himself married and also encouraged others
to marry. It has been reported that The Prophet
Muhammad ( PBUH )
said,
‘A person who possesses the means to marry (i.e. he is able to work etc. to support a wife and children) and does not marry then he is not from amongst us (i.e. the believers).’
In another narration the Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH )
has been reported to have said,
‘Do not delay in three things; 1) The offering of the obligatory prayer. 2) The offering of the funeral prayer when the deceased’s body is present . 3) The marriage of a woman when her couple is found’
One can see from this statement that to become a complete and true believer
one must act upon the advice given by The Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH ).
This means marrying when the partner is found and not
delaying it for too long.
The Creator of the Universe – Allah - has stated in the Quran,
‘And wed the single among you’.(C24 : V32)
One can see from the above verse that the Creator of
mankind himself has ordered us to marry. The scholars of Islam have
stated that when Allah states an order in the Quran like the above-mentioned
one then this order becomes compulsory on man hence marriage is an obligatory
act. The big question must be why? Why has Islam
emphasised marriage so much and why has the best of creations encouraged it so
much. Surely there must be a reason. Well there are a number of reasons why Islam has emphasised
marriage so much. A few of which I will mention.