The Philosophy of Marriage in Islam
I have noticed that there is a trend
inviting young people to refrain from marriage via numerous methods, including
intimidating them as regards the responsibilities they are to shoulder as well
as casting doubt over the institution of marriage itself. Is there a way to
refute these allegations?
Name of Mufti Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi
Content of
Reply In the Name of Allah, Most
Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah,
and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, we would like to
thank you for your very interesting question and the great confidence you place
in us. We implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work
for His Sake.
Marriage in Islam is intended to cater
to multiple purposes which include, above all, spiritual tranquility and peace,
and cooperation and partnership in fulfilling the divine mandate. Islam – being
a natural way of life – takes into account all of genuine human instincts such
as physical, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, et cetera.
Although fulfilling one's physical
needs in a decent manner is one of the main purposes of marriage, it is not the
sole one. According to the clear statement of the Qur’an,
tranquility and peace through a successful union is considered the primary
objective of marriage: “Among His signs is that He created for you spouses of
your own kind in order that you may repose to them in tranquility and He
instilled in your hearts love and affection for one another; verily, in these
are signs for those who reflect (on the nature of the reality).” (Ar-Rum: 21).
In another place, Allah refers to the
relationship between males and females in terms of partnership for achieving
goodness and fulfilling the divine mandate for their lives. “The believers,
males and females, are partners of one another; they shall jointly enjoin all
that is good and counsel against all that is evil.” (At-Tawbah:
71)
Responding to the question in point, the
eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:
"Just as Islam aims at rearing a
righteous individual, being the cornerstone in the social structure of the
nation, it also seeks to establish a sound family, the prime and essential
factor in building a good society. It is never disputed that marriage – that
unites a man and a woman in solemn matrimony – is the foundation that gives
rise to the family. There is no way a real or proper family could ever exist
out of wedlock, the way that has been legislated by Allah, Exalted be He.
Perverted ideas opposing the
institution of marriage:
Throughout the ages, humanity has come
to learn of ideas and trends that oppose the idea of marriage. In Persia (now
Iran), before the advent of Islam, there emerged Mani’s
philosophy, which claimed that the world abounds in evil, that it should be
exterminated and that prohibiting marriage is the fastest way to effect this
goal.
Under the banner of Christianity
appeared extreme monasticism that denounces life, calls to getting incarcerated
in monasteries and prohibiting marriage, because woman, they held, is a cause
of temptation and a devil incarnate. Venturing near her is in itself a sin that
corrupts a soul and alienates one from Heaven.
In modern times, there exist in the
West pessimists who totally condemned woman, describing her as a serpent, with
a soft touch but deadly venom. They further claim that marriage offers her the
golden opportunity to place man under her thumb and shackle him with
responsibilities. So why should man, out of his own free will, choose to place
those chains around his neck though he was born free?
Unfortunately, some of our contemporary
Muslim youth have been fallen prey to those perverted ideas, and thereupon
decided to refrain from marriage that entails endless responsibilities,
obligations and restrictions. They, on the other hand, wish to live their
entire lives as children shouldering no responsibilities. If overcome by desire
or the call of their instincts, vicious adultery will certainly quench their
thirst in lieu of lawful marriage.
The objectives of marriage in Islam:
a) According to the divine laws and
norms, nothing can ever perform its duty single-handedly. Allah meant
everything to be in need of another of its kind, so that one would complement
the other. In the field of electricity, positive and negative poles need to be
in contact so as to induce an electric current, which in turn, yields light,
heat, motion, etc. Likewise, electrons and protons should be in contact inside
an atom. In plants, pollen grain carrying male gametes fertilize a flower's
stigma to produce more plants, fruits and seeds. Male and female animals have
to be in contact in order to reproduce. The Glorious Qur’an
highlights this universal law in the following two verses: “And all things We have created by pairs, that haply ye may reflect.” (Adh-Dhariyat: 49) “Glory be to Him
Who created all the sexual pairs, of that which the earth groweth,
and of themselves, and of that which they know not.” (Ya-Sin:
36) In response to this law, Allah, Exalted be He, has legislated a sublime
tradition for a man and a woman to be united in such a way as befits the lofty
status of human beings, namely through marriage.
Allah, Exalted be He, has inculcated in
a man's heart a longing for a woman, and in a woman's heart a longing for a man.
Each of them is driven by a far more exigent need than hunger or thirst. Each
of them senses a definite emptiness in his or her life that can only be filled
with their union, according to the divine laws, namely via marriage. Only then
does stability replace confusion and reassurance does replace anxiety. Each of
them finds in the other serenity, love and mercy that light their lives and
enrich their souls. The following is one of Allah's glaring signs in our
universe, which the Glorious Qur'an points to: "Among
His signs is that He created for you spouses of your own kind in order that you
may repose to them in tranquility and He instilled in your hearts love and
affection for one another; verily, in these are signs for those who reflect (on
the nature of the reality)." (Ar-Rum: 21)
b) Reproduction is the natural outcome of marriage. It serves to prolong man's existence, thanks to the pious progeny that succeeds him. This is thus one of Allah's bounties which He grants man saying, "And Allah hath given you wives of your own kind, and hath given you, from your wives, sons and grandsons, and hath made provision of good