Islam marriage

Islam marriage is called in Arabic “Nikah”, and there are rules and conditions for Islam marriage, and Islam marriage is based on fulfilling the desire of the human being to the satisfaction of God. Islam religion called for the necessity of marriage and forbade the celibacy which means to abstain from marriage, as Prophet Muhammad –peace and blessings be upon him- said: (Four of the Sunnah of Messengers: henna, perfume, miswak, and marriage). And Islam also called to facilitate the marriage for the youth, as Prophet Muhammad (p,b.u.h) said: (One of the signs of a women being blessed is facilitation of her engagement and facilitation of her dowry and facilitation of her womb).

Marriage in the pre-Islamic era:

Before Islam, the honorable Arabs were getting married by a method very much like marriage in Islam, but there were also many unjustic customs for women, like marrying under duress, or depraving them from their dowries, and also, many types of corrupted marriage customs were common. And when Islam was revealed, it nullified all of that, and honored the woman by giving her rights that she didn’t take before, and also Islam imposed duties on her, to ensure the success and continuance of the marriage.

Importance of marriage in Islam:

At the general level, Allah -the Almighty- made reproduction is a way for construction of the earth, and it is the way to increase the number of Muslims, and this is through one path which is the legal Islam marriage.   And at a personal level, it preserves men and women from drifting into forbidden relationships, and honoring the human being and preserves his humanity. Furthermore, marriage provides stability, and assistance in worships and devotions to the Muslim person.

Conditions of Islam marriage:

Islam requires some conditions for the Islam marriage to be a right and impeccable marriage, as following;   -Identifying the husbands in a clear way, and this means that the guardian of the bride during the marriage ceremony should say the name of the bride, not say “marry my daughter” without mentioning her name, specially if he has another daughters. -Mutual agreement, as Islam marriage requires the agreement of both spouses to marry each other. -Presence of two witnesses, as Prophet Muhammad -peace and blessings be upon him- said; (No marriage without a guardian and two justice witnesses ) -Absence of any impediment to the marriage, as for example, if the bride and the groom are foster brothers, or the groom is not Muslim, or the bride is not Muslim nor from the people of the book. Islam marriage does not require only the validity of its conditions, it also requires affection and mercy among the husband and the wife, as Allah –the Almighty- said: {And from his signs, He created wives for you from among yourselves, that you may dwell in them, and He made affection and mercy among yourselves, and in this, there are signs for people who reflect}.

The polygamy in Islam marriage:

Allah the Almighty said: {And if you fear that you won’t be fair with the orphan girls, then marry who you want of the women, two or three, or four, but if you fear that you won’t be fair, then only one or whom your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that you will not do injustice} ,This is the Quranic text that show that polygamy or plural marriage is allowed in Islam marriage, and that Islamic Shari’a permitted to the man to marry one, two, three, or four wives, and he may have this number of wives at the same time. Non-Muslims and even some Muslims may ask what is the wisdom of permission of polygamy in Islam marriage? Polygamy was permitted for many reasons such as, for increasing the number of Islamic nation, and to protect single women from misdeeds without breaking down the first marriage, it also helps in keeping the wife if she was sick or infertile without depriving the husband from his rights. But there are conditions for the polygamy which are; -Justice, and this means that the man should be fair with his wives and treat his wives equally in everything, otherwise he should marry just one wife. The financial ability to spend on his wives, as Allah –the Almighty- said:- {And those who can’t find the means for marriage, they should keep themselves chaste, until Allah enriches them from his favor} , so if the man can not afford to spend on his wife, Allah -the Almighty- ordered him to keep himself virtuous until Allah enriches him, and it is also for the polygamy, how come that he marry another women if he can not spend on one wife?

Plural marriage of Prophet Muhammad:

One of the suspicion that some Non-Muslims misunderstand it, is the plural marriage of Prophet Muhammad -peace and blessings be upon him- as he married more than four wives at the same time, and we should understand the reasons of this. There are social reasons; whereas Muhammad (p.b.u.h) married Khadija Bent Khoiled –may God be pleased with her- when she was older than him and he didn’t marry again until she died, then he married a woman to take care of his children after the death of their mother, and he married some of the martyrs’ wives as an honor for them and a compensation for them and their children. And moreover, the plural marriage of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) had some political reasons; as reducing enmity between tribes . And from them who he married her with a revelation from God Almighty. We must mention that Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) started to marry more than one woman when he was 53! And he married divorced women and widowers women! While the most beautiful young girls of Qurish tribe were offered to him and he refused! Is it possible that it was for craving! **Finally, marriage is a Sunnah of Allah on the earth, and Islam put its rules and condition to keep it as a sacred bond between man and woman.