Marriage a compulsion in Islam?

[Kayote]

:salam2:

This is something that totally blew me away & Ive always taken it for granted that we all have to get married one day as thats the way everyone has done & we shall continue that. However...

Few days back, a Tunisian muslim work collegue & myself were discussing various things about Islam & I was telling her about the miracle of Quran & how (The Quran) being the word of Allah (SHW), it has to be true & without a single fault, when somehow we ended up talking about marriage.

Then she said, it is not a 'fard' on us muslims to get married & I couldnt answer. I did say that getting married completes half of your religious duty but that does not itself make marriage a compulsion.

Please can anyone provide any references from The Quran & hadith about how important marriage is in Islam. This is such a simple thing that it never occured to me to ask or even investigate before.

Thankyou

 

[Abul Harith]

Asalam alaikom

There is no compulsion in faith..

{ There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in God, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And God is All-Hearer, All-Knower } Surah Baqarah:256

However the question is whether it is compulsory to get married. This is answered in the response to the below question,

Question:

What do you think a one should do who have high sexual desires who doesnt go out nor does anything to satisfy it. It is very distracting , constant thoughts in the head , I do want to get married but parents have high expectations, to become somebody first then think about settling.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

It is narrated in al-Bukhaari (5065) and Muslim (3384) that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us: “O young men, whoever among you can afford to get married, let him do so, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and preserving chastity. Whoever cannot afford it, let him fast, for that will be a shield for him” – i.e., it will reduce and weaken his desire.

Based on this, if a person can afford to get married then he should hasten to do so, because of the many benefits that this brings, as mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), namely it helps him to lower his gaze and protect his chastity, increases the numbers of the ummah and offers protection against temptation and mischief.

Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “If I only had ten days left to live and I knew that I was going to die on the last of them, and I could afford to get married, I would get married, for fear of fitnah (temptation).”

Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Celibacy has nothing to do with Islam at all.”

If you fear hardship for yourself and that you may and fall into sin, then in that case it is obligatory for you to get married.

In this case parents are advised to arrange their son’s marriage and not to stand in the way of his remaining chaste and protecting himself from temptation.

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to marriage, people fall into three categories. Some of them fear that they may fall into sin if they do not get married, in which case it is obligatory to marry, according to the view of most of the fuqaha’, because this will make a person remain chaste and protect him from committing haraam actions; the only way to do is to get married.”

Al-Mughni, 9/341.

You have to deal gently and kindly with your parents and try to convince them of your need to get married, and tell them that this will never conflict with what they want for you in the future. You can also seek the help of wise people among your relatives to convince your parents.

The questioner is to be commended for not going out to places of fitnah (temptation) and not fulfilling his desires by haraam means. We ask Allaah to make you steadfast and to help you to find a good wife who will be a delight to you and your parents, for He is Ever-near and Responsive.

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Source: Islam Q-A

 

[Mabsoot]

Assalamu Alaykum,

Alhamdulilah the brother mu2min made good reply using ruling from scholars.

Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Celibacy has nothing to do with Islam at all.”

There is no reward for not getting married. Islam forbids monk like lifestyle where people retreat totally from the world. Infact, opposite is case you get lots of rewards for getting married.

wasalam.

 

[Kayote]

:salam2:

Thankyou Mu2min & mabsoot for the replys. I'm quite surprised that marriage is not 'fard' in Islam.

So to summarise, marriage is not a compulsion yet you earn reward for taking this step & its a way of protection from evils.

JazakAllah Khair

 

[Abul Harith]

:salam2:

Thankyou Mu2min & mabsoot for the replys. I'm quite surprised that marriage is not 'fard' in Islam.

So to summarise, marriage is not a compulsion yet you earn reward for taking this step & its a way of protection from evils.

JazakAllah Khair

Asalam alaikom Kayote,

Marrriage isn't 'fard' in itself. But marriage can become fard 'obligatory' as can be seen in the words of Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) in my reply above.

Also I would like to pick up on the usage of the word "compulsory" in the original question - Marriage a compulsion in Islam? It is important to differentiate between what is 'fard'- obligatory and that what is compulsory. There is a difference in these two words. So please note.

As I alluded to above by mentioning the ayah from the Quran there is no compulsion in the deen at all. You cannot force anyone to get married beyond their free will, just as you cannot force anyone to convert to Islam. This goes for both men and women. If the person is getting forced into a marriage it will contradict Islamic Law.

The following hadeeth is about a girl who was forced into marriage by her father at the time of the Prophet . When she came and explained her marriage to the Prophet she was given an option to have the marriage annulled.

‘Aa’ishah reported that a girl came to her and said, “My father married me to his brother’s son in order to raise his social standing, and I did not want this marriage [I was forced into it].” ‘Aa’ishah said, “Sit here until the Prophet comes. The Messenger of Allaah came and she told him about the girl. The Prophet sent for her father, then he gave the girl the choice of what to do. She said, “O Messenger of Allaah, I have accepted what my father did, but I wanted to prove something to other women.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i, 3217).

Wasalam

Mu2min

 

[Kayote]

Salam & Thankyou Mu2min for that.

I used the words 'Obligation' & 'Compulsion' as inter-changable. I guess I shouldnt as it just confuses matters. But correct me if Im wrong, both can be used in the same sense in this context.

Yes, I understand the fact you cannot force marriage but I was under the impression that marriage being such a natural act, it was declared a 'compulsion' in Islam. Now I know better.

Thanks again

WaAliekum Assalam