Marriage is an important provision of Islam. Along with the creation of men, Almighty Allah has given some demands for all men and some methods for satisfying those demands. One of the important demands amongst all of them is marriage. Marriage is a special blessing of God to men and the important circumcision of the Prophet (PBUH). Marriage is a unique tool to prevent the depravity of human character. Marriage makes a starting of an Ideal family structure.
Marriage is the main source to meet human biological needs and human satisfaction. Marriage is an important ingredient of Islamic Shariah. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says about marriage, “One of the sign of Allah is that He created from among you your mates so that you may find peace with them and He has created mutual love and kindness among you.” (Surah Room, Verse: 21)
What is marriage?
It is a religious and social permission to stay together of one male with one female so that they can share their physical and mental demand. Marriage; the oldest institution of human society; over time, the organization only has changed from its original form to its present structure. The interesting thing is that marriage has been institutionalized mainly by religion. All the rules of marriage are regulated in the religious discipline.
From ancient times, in many countries of the world, the provision of religious scriptures was the rule of many social systems (like marriage). Apart from religious and state laws, folk culture has also influenced marital life in many ways. Marriage begins with a new family. In addition, marriage creates opportunities for family and inheritance. Through marriage, men are identified as husbands and females as wives (spouses). The married life of husband and wife is called “bridal life.”
There are diverse traditions of marriage in every religion. In the same way, marriage is held in different ways in different societies. Although marriage is primarily a religious practice, it is also a legal practice in modern civilization. As unmarried sex is recognized as illegal and is considered a sin and a crime. By marriage procedure, it is turned into an excellent legal practice.
Muslim marriage
Marriage is what men and women are supposed to do to benefit from each other. It is a mutual agreement to build an ideal family and safe society. “Marry those of you are unmarried, and those of your slaves and women who do good deeds. If they are helpless, Allah will ease them by His grace. God is all-knowing. Those who are not capable of marriage should exercise restraint until Allah destroys them by His grace”.-Surah An-nur: 32-33)
In Islam, the bride can say yes or no to the marriage according to her wishes. A formal and firm marital agreement is considered a marriage in Islam, which sets the boundary between the bridegroom and the bride. The wedding must include two Muslim witnesses. Marriage in Islam is the norm of a Sunnah or Muhammad (PBUH). Islam is strongly advised to get married.
What should we do before we get married as a Muslim?
There is a need for some mental preparation for starting your family life. You suddenly see his/her, fall in love at first sight, and marry in a while - all these are very wrong thoughts and actions that can lead to an unhealthy married life for both of you.
So, the question is what you should do or what you should know before you get married?
Answer the below questions by yourselves-
How do you know you’re ready to get married? And more precisely, how do you make sure that you are prepared to marry only the specific people you choose? It is important to know for yourself whether you are ready for marriage or not. This is why some personal calculations have to be settled to know the good aspects of yourself and identify your weaknesses. You need to know how God is related to you, and how do you expect God to be with your partner.
Are you ready to take the responsibility of building your family, compressing on a variety of issues, working together with your partner, meeting your personal and family goals?
It is important to know how much you will contribute to the family after marriage and what you can do to build a healthy, happy, and comfortable family.
So, carefully think all these issues and know the exact relevant explanations from your heart.
Muslim marriage rules
All the relevant rules and regulations to successfully complete a Muslim marriage are discussed below:
Holding a marriage
The (would be) husband and wife should be free from all obstacles when thinking of marriage.
Ezab is a proposal to bring the marriage proposal to the bride’s guardian or her representative. For example, ‘I want to marry your daughter” or propose in some other way.
Confession; it is the consent sentence of the groom or his representative. For example, ‘I accept, or I agreed.’
Two righteous witnesses. The witnesses must be men. One man and two women, or four women, will not run. Because the Prophet (PBUH) said,
“The marriage will not be organized without a guardian and two witnesses.”
Condition for purification of marriage
The groom and the bride should be accepted by each other.
The bride and groom should be pleased with each other. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “women without a husband (widows or divorced) cannot be married without her decision (that is; clearly she should decide from her).” A virgin girl cannot be married without her consent (either through words or through silence)”
People asked, “O Allah’s Messenger (Swt)!” How do I know his consent? He said, “It is his consent to remain silent (because of shame).” (Bukhari, Hadith No. 1).
The guardian of the daughter must fulfill the duty of the marriage contract. Allah has directed the guardians to be accomplished the marry off their son and daughter. Allah says, “And you shall marry unmarried men and women among you.” (Surah Noor, 20:12)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A woman who marries without the permission of her parents can cancel her marriage, cancel her marriage, cancel her marriage.”
The witness should be kept during the marriage season. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “There is no marriage except guardian and two witnesses” (SahihJame, Hadith no. 1).
The witness must be two male (independent) witnesses or one male (independent) and two female witnesses who hear both the proposition and the confessional statement. (Ad-Durrul Mukhtar-1/9; Fatwaay Hindia-9/26)
It is also important to confirm the marriage campaign. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “You declare marriage.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 12)
Condition for being the bride’s guardian
Having a sound brain.
Being an adult.
Freedom from the chains of slavery.
To be ritualistic of the bride. Therefore, no non-Muslim person can be the guardian of a Muslim man or woman.
To be upright, that is, not to Faske. Some scholars have imposed this condition. Others have called the external (piety) or Godliness is sufficient. According to some, the welfare of the person to whom he is marrying will still have the merits to consider.
Being a man. Dear Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “A woman cannot marry another woman. Or the woman cannot marry herself. The adulteress herself marries herself.'
In the marriage, the bridegroom or the bride should be able to consider the ‘kufu’ or aspects of equality and other welfare.
Fiqh scholars have prescribed the clause of the guardians. Therefore, it is not acceptable to have a close guardian parent while having a tight guard. If there is no parent nearby, then a parent will be accepted.
Maher in Muslim marriage
It is the duty of the husband to pay the Maher to her wife during the marriage. In this regard, Allah Almighty says, “Pay your wife Maher with happiness.” - Surah An-Nisa 🙁 4) It is the right of each wife to get the Maher. Allah Almighty has given this right to women to claim and collect her Maher from her husband. So, like all other rights, claiming Maher to a husband is not contagious to his wife.
Many people think that the money of the Maher is to be paid to the wife, only if the marriage breaks down. This is ignorance and extreme misconception. It is obligatory to pay the Maher, even if the marriage is not divorced. If the wife does not get the full or part of the Maher, it will be a loan to the husband. Until repayment, the husband will be in debt, and the wife will be the creditor. In this case, if the husband dies, the wife’s Maher must be paid before sharing the husband’s wealth with his heirs.
And if the wife dies earlier, the husband will have to divide the wife’s Maher between her heirs. Therefore, with the same importance as other loans, the debt should pay as quickly as possible. It is not acceptable in the Shariah to seek forgiveness from the wife on the night of the wedding, at the time of death of the wife, at the time of even husband’s death. In any circumstances, each husband is obliged to give the Maher to his wife even if he apologizes.
As evidenced by verse 24 of Surah Nisa, the Maher must be a marketable material asset. And the Hadith proves that the minimum amount of seals will be ten Dirhams. In modern measure, it is about 30.618 grams of silver. The maximum amount of Maher was not determined. Any amount above the minimum amount can be set as a Maher.
However, since the husband is obliged to pay the debt, it should be taken into consideration as to his ability to pay. No such decision should be imposed on him - that he might be guilty.
Islamic marriage Requirements
Islam, the religion of humanity, has arranged for men and women to be bound to marriages in order to live a beautiful life. Islam has emphasized the need to involve in marriage to protect humans from the curse of the lawlessness and ungodliness of a volatile, voluntary life. It is the system of a viable and practical tool to protect the purity and integrity of men and women. Marriage is the establishment of a relationship between men and women in the social environment and in accordance with Islamic Shariah. Marriage makes it perfectly legal for both men and women to live together and to have sexual relations with each other.
A person, who is capable of getting married, has been ordered to be bound in marriage. Don’t want to get married, although his/her ability is a heinous crime in Islam. Marriage is not just for the enjoyment of pleasure, but also indirectly or directly, it helps to make every man’s and woman’s life pure, beautiful, and meaningful.
In the Holy Qur’an, the marriage and the adoption of a wife are mentioned as a special gift from Allah to the Prophet. In this regard, Surah Riyadh of the Holy Qur’an mentions: “O Prophet, before you, I sent many prophets and provided for them wives and children.” This verse indicates that marriage is a divine provision given by God to us.
In this regard, Allah says in verse 187 of Surah al-Baqara of the Holy Qur’an: “Wives are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them.” That is, just as clothing protects the human body from all kinds of nudity, obscenity, ugliness, etc. Like this, husband and wife also protect each other through marriage. In the same context, it is said in Miskat Sharif that “one who marries, half his faith is fulfilled; he should fear God for the other half.” The Hadith further mentions that “when the husband and wife sit alone, talk and laugh, their reward is like Nafal worship.” Moreover, in the Hadith, it says that wives are the best assets of the world’s temporary wealth. The importance and necessity of marriage are very important in every man’s life.
Sahabi Hazrat Abbas (peace be upon him) said, “There is no rule in Islam regarding virginity and singleness.” Marriage is a natural manifestation of a tendency to be inherent in human nature. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned in one Hadith about the consequence of not marrying despite his ability-“A person who does not get married despite being able to marry does not join my community.”
In Musnad Ahmad, it is further stated that-“the Prophet (PBUH) would order us to marry and strictly forbid him to live unmarried.” Moreover, referring to the dire consequences of not marrying despite being able to do so, the world Prophet (peace be upon him) sharply said (described by Hazrat Ayesha (peace be upon her) that-
The Prophet (PBUH) said that-“marrying is my ideal and lasting principle, whoever will not follow this Sunnah, will not belong to my community.”
Muslim 4 marriage rule
According to Islamic marriage laws, men of Sunni and Shia tribes can marry many. This will allow men to have multiple wives with a maximum of four at the same time. However, the same woman cannot have multiple husbands in reverse order.
These polygamous practices are different in different parts of the Muslim world. This is very common in some Muslim countries, and in some countries such as Azerbaijan, Tunisia, and Turkey, Islamic law is not accepted for marriage. As a result, polygamy is not legal there.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “He who has two wives, but one of them who leans towards one, will appear half-dead on the Day of Resurrection.”- (Ahmed 2/347; will come to Sunan; Hakim (2/186) Ibn Hibban (419)
It is said that Islam legalized many marriages. In fact, Islam has set a limit for many marriages, that no one can marry more than four. Because in that era, even one hundred or two hundred years ago from today, in many countries, many people used to marry 50/60/80 even more!
If you do not believe, you can read both the ‘Many Marriage’ and ‘Child Marriage’ of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. If you read the history of the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, or any of the earth’s history, you will find that in that era, men had many wives. For this, Davenport states that “Muhammad (SAW) was bound to limit many marriages.”
So, Islam has legalized four marriages but gently advised one to marry.
Verdict
Biological needs are also crucial for human life like other needs, such as food, clothing, housing, education, and treatment. In order to meet this demand, Islam has provided for marriage. Marriage is another name for the social validity of having a matured man and a woman together. In many religions, the rules of marriage are the same, but in Islam, it is wide-spread and useful for both men and women.
“You marry them with the permission of their guardians, giving them proper Maher, so that they may be protected in the fortress of marriage and not engage in free sex and secret friendship.”-(Surah An-Nisa, 25)
Regarding marriage, our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) has said, “Everything in the world is (temporary) wealth, but holy women are the best asset of all wealth.” (Muslim)