Why Marry?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Sunnah indicates that it is prescribed to get married, and that it is one of the Sunnahs of the Messengers. By getting married a person can, with the help of Allah, overcome many of the traps of evil, for marriage helps him to lower his gaze and guard his chastity, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in the hadith, “O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding chastity..” [Agreed upon]

“Whomever Allah blesses with a righteous wife, He has helped him with half of his religion, so let him fear Allah with regard to the other half.” [Haakim]

“When a person gets married he has completed half of his religion, so let him fear Allah with regard to the other half.” [Al-Baihaqi]

The topic of marriage is probably the one foremost in the minds of young and middle-aged Muslims. A lot of people view the idea of marriage with both wishfulness and apprehension. They want a sustainable relationship, but know that there will be challenges involved. After all, this dunya is a test and a place to strive in, to make it to our home sweetest home--Jannah!

Since marriage is half of deen (faith) this is a pretty serious endeavor. Why do people get married? Everyone will have all sorts of answers: to have companionship, to have children, to share the chores, and so on. But all of them should flow to the ultimate one: for Allah.

The key to marriage is Allah. It is the absolute dedication and concern with only Allah, and orienting our actions towards Him. That is what a believer should strive for in every moment, and marriage is a tremendous opportunity to bring you close to Allah.

What we should look for in a spouse is to reject the more superficial qualities that people tend to look for in a spouse today, such as income, occupation, race, as well as the “compatibility standard” offered to us in the modern view of true love, but would be completely irrelevant in shaping the building blocks of what makes a good relationship.

رَ‌بَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَ‌ٰجِنَا وَذُرِّ‌يَّـٰتِنَا قُرَّ‌ةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

Our Lord, grant us from among our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam