What is the decree on marriage?

- Is it fard to marry and is it haram to remain single?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The decree on marriage is divided into fard, wajib, sunnah, haram, makruh or mubah, depending on the status of those getting married:

1. It is fard for a person who is certain to commit fornication if he does not marry to get married, on condition that he has the means to give the dowry (mahr) and to provide livelihood for his wife. (Wahba Zuhayli, İslam Fıkhı, 9/29)

2. It is wajib for a person who has the risk of committing fornication if he does not marry on condition that he has the means to provide mahr and livelihood for the wife. The majority except for Hanafis do not differentiate between fard and wajib. (Ibnul-Humam, Fathul-Qadir, II, 342; al-Qasani, al-Badayi’, II, 260 ff)

3. It is haram for a person who is certain to oppress his spouse if he gets married to get married.

For the one who fears both committing fornication and oppressing his spouse, the aspect of haram is preferred because if halal and haram coexist in an issue, haram is regarded as more important as a principle and it must be avoided. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse in the Quran:

“Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste, until Allah gives them means out of His grace.” (an-Nur, 24:33)

4. It is makruh for a person who is likely to oppress his spouse to get married. (al-Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar, III, 82)

5. It is sunnah for those in moderate sexual state (i’tidal) to get married.

I’tidal is the state of the one who does not have the risk of committing fornication if he does not get married, and who is not likely to oppress his spouse if he gets married. The majority of the community falls into this group. The hadiths mentioned above advising young people who cannot marry to fast and warning the three Companions who decided to abstain from marriage are the evidence for that.

On the other hand, the Prophet and the Companions got married and those following them continued that sunnah. That is the preferred view. (See al-Fatawal-Hindiyya, I, 267)

According to Imam Shafi’i, it is mubah (permissible) to marry in that case. It is permissible to marry or to remain single. According to him, dedicating one’s time to worshiping and engaging in knowledge is superior to marriage. The evidences he bases his view on are as follows: God Almighty praised the Prophet Yahya (John) as follows:

“... noble, chaste, and a prophet,- of the (goodly) company of the righteous…”  (Aal-i Imran, 3:39).

The word ‘hasur’ (chaste) used in the original Arabic text of the verse refers to a person who does not engage in sexual intercourse with a woman although he has the potency. If marriage were superior to that, abandoning it would not be praised. However, the majority of scholars says that this example is a practice of former shari’ah and that it is not binding upon the ummah of Islam.

Another evidence of Imam Shafi’i is this verse:

“…Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust...” (an-Nisa, 4/24).

That something is halal (lawful) means it is mubah (permissible) because those two words are synonyms. On the other hand, marriage provides sexual benefit for the married person. It is not wajib for somebody to perform something that is to his/her benefit. Thus, marriage is among the things that are mubah such as eating and drinking, and shopping. (1)

(1) See az-Zuhayli, al Fiqhul-Islami wa Adillatuh, Damascus 1405/1985, VII / 33, 34; Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Buughul-Maram min Adillatil-Ahkam, Transl. Ahmed Davudoğlu, İstanbul 1967, II / 228 ff.; Hamdi Döndüren, Delilleriyle İslâm Hukuku, İstanbul 1983, pp. 183, 184.

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