Allama Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi

Abstraction and monasticism are not permissible in Islam
In the last hadith mentioned above, the purpose of marriage and the evils of non-marriage have also been highlighted and its philosophy has been explained that a married man avoids the temptation and obscenity of women, on the contrary, a single or unmarried person can easily fall into their trap and he can hardly save his chastity and abstention, because woman is the greatest weapon of Satan by which he creates mischief in society, as it has been stated in a hadith:

النساء حبائل الشياطين:
“Women are the snare of the devil”(8) (through which he traps people).
According to another hadith, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said:

ما ترکت بعدى فتنة أضر على الرجال من النساء:
“I have left no temptation more harmful for men after me than for women.” (9)

In another hadith:
المرأة عورة فإذا خرجت استشرفھا الشيطان:
“A woman is something to be kept hidden (i.e., she needs a veil) because when she leaves the house, the devil looks out for her.” (10)

Even good devotees and ascetics have lost their asceticism and austerities by getting trapped in the tribulation of women. Even the Christian monks and clerics themselves have not been able to escape from such tribulations. Rather, they have tarnished their monasticism by secretly laying down their arms in front of beauty, as the history of Christianity and the Church bears witness to it. (11)

For this reason, neither monasticism is permissible nor living an unmarried life is allowed in Islam. On the contrary, living a chaste life by getting married has been encouraged on every step, on the one hand, attention has been drawn towards polygamy and having children in abundance and monasticism has been discouraged on the other hand. Since Islam is a natural and rational religion and it wants a society where on the one hand there is balance and moderation and on the other hand there is an end to sexual misconduct. Obviously, in a free society, the society quickly declines and loses its social values. Therefore, the only way to eradicate social evils is to prevent free and unrestricted sexual intercourse and to prevent such evils at all costs. That is why marriage and married life have become so virtuous in Islam. And while encouraging those who can afford the expenses(12) of marriage to get married, it has been said that whoever does not have the means to do so should fast. Because fasting reduces sexual desire and helps a lot in controlling one’s emotions. Therefore, according to a famous hadith, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said:

يا معشر الشباب! من استطاع منکم الباءة فليتزوج، فإنه أغض للبصر وأحصن للفرج۔ ومن لم يستطع فعليه الصوم۔ فإنه له وجاء۔

“O youth! Whoever of you has the power (sexually and financially) to marry must marry. This is because it is meant to lower the gaze and protect the private parts, and whoever does not have the strength to do so, he should fast, because fasting will break his lust.(13)

من کان منکم ذا طول فليتزوج، فإنه أغض للبصر، وأحصن للفرج، ومن لا فالصوم له وجاء:
The Messenger of Allaah (PBUH) said: Whoever of you is a capable man, let him marry, for this will help to keep his eyes down and to protect his private parts. And for the one who is not capable, fasting will break his lust.(14)

من قدر على أن ينکح فلم ينکح فليس منا:
A person who has the power to marry, but still does not marry, is not our man. (15)

من کان موسراً لأن ينکح فلم ينکح فليس منا:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: He who is wealthy and can marry, but still does not marry, then he is not our man. (16)

من تبتل فليس منا:
The Messenger of Allaah (PBUH) said: He who abstains from marriage is not one of us.(17)

لا صرورة فى الاسلام:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: It is not permissible in Islam to live an unmarried life. (18)

For this reason, castration is considered a change in God’s creation and a denial of His blessings in Islam, which can sometimes be life threatening.(19) Therefore, it is clearly forbidden in some hadiths. Ibn Mas’ud (RA) says that we used to take part in battles with the Prophet (PBUH), but women did not join us. For this reason, we requested permission from the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to get castrate, but he forbade us to do so.

فقلنا يا رسول اللہ الا نستخصى؟ فنھانا عن ذلک:
“We asked, O Messenger of Allah! should we not castrate ourselves? So he forbade us to do so. (20)

There is an incident of famous Companion Osman bin Mazoon (RA) that his wife Khoula bint Hakim (RA) came to Ayesha Siddiqa (RA) brokenheartedly. Upon this, Ayesha asked, “What is the matter?” She said, “My husband keeps himself engaged in worship all the night and fasts during the day,” Meantime, the Prophet (PBUH) entered the house; Aisha (RA) narrated the whole story to him. Then he (PBUH) called Osman bin Mazoon (RA) and said:

يا عثمان! إن الرهبانية لم تکتب علينا۔ أما لک فيَّ أسوة؟ فو اللہ إن أخشاکم للہ وأحفظکم لحدودہ لانا:
O Osman! Monasticism has not been advised for us. Don’t I have a role model for you? I swear by Allah, I am the one who fears Allah the most and protects His limits the most.(21)

It should be borne in mind that the Arabs have not been the people of divine book (Shariah) for centuries. Due to this, they were very much influenced by the asceticism and worship of Jews and Christians, especially the Christian monasticism, and they used to intimidate them, and they had great value and prestige for it.(22) On these grounds, a section of Muslims considered married life to be contrary to worship and piety. In order to dispel the misconceptions of this class and to refute the fallacies of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), Islam encouraged and co-opted married life in various ways and termed their self-made customs and traditions far from the divine religion as baseless. So that the development of civilization and society be brought under the true principles of nature and to prevent the infiltration of unnatural and anti-cultural thoughts and customs, which are not only mans’s inventions but are far from the true spirit of worship and subjugation.

Getting married is also worship
In Christianity, since woman was considered the root of evil, men were urged to stay away from women, and it was unnaturally declared that married life is a denial of spirituality. Thus, according to St. Augustine, sexual intercourse was considered fundamentally sinful, which can only be forgiven if it was committed for the purpose of reproductive action. In his view, sexuality, being an animal desire, was contrary to spirituality, and this idea of condemning marital life pervaded the Christian world for one thousand years.(23)

But in Islam, on the other hand, a woman a human being is not only equal to a man, but also the conjugal life is a means of completion of religion. Because a man’s life cannot be considered complete without a woman. In Islam, since the conjugal life has been emphasized to avoid sexual misconduct and immoralities, marriage is also considered an act of worship in Islam. Therefore, a virtuous wife is considered to be the greatest blessing of the world in Islam. Hence, sexual intercourse is not in any way reprehensible, instead it will be a reward (if it is done in a lawful manner) in Islam. Because of married life, the doors of fornication are closed and no opportunity is left to the devil to seduce. This is the reason why the devil suffers the most when someone gets married. And it is proven from some hadiths that getting married is also a cause of completion of faith.

إذا تزوج العبد فقد استکمل نصف الدين، فليتق اللہ فى النصف الباقى۔
“When a person gets married, he achieves perfection in half the religion. So he should fear Allah in the other half.”(24)

من رزقه اللہ امرأة صالحة فقد أعانه على شطر دينه، فليتق اللہ فى شطر الثانى:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: Whoever is blessed with a good wife by Allah, he has helped him in half of the religion. Therefore, he should fear Allah in the other half (i.e., in the rest of his life).(25)

إذا تزوج أحدکم عج شيطانہ يقول: يا ويله عصم ابن آدم منى ثلثى دينه:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “When one of you gets married, the Shaitan cries out: ‘Woe to me, Adam’s son saved two-thirds of his religion from me” (26)

خير فائدة أفادھا المرء المسلم بعد إسلامه إمرأة جميلة، تسرہ إذا نظر إليھا، وتطيعه إذا أمرھا، وتحفظه فى غيبته فى ماله ونفسھا:
“|The greatest benefit a Muslim man gets after his Islam is a beautiful woman. When he looks at her, she makes him happy. When he commands her to do so, she obeys him, and in his absence, she protects her husband’s property and takes care of her soul.” (27)

من أعطى للہ، و منع للہ، وأحب للہ، وأبغض للہ، وأنکح للہ فقد استکمل الايمان:
The Messenger of Allaah (PBUH) said: Whoever gives for the sake of Allah, and forbids for the sake of Allah, and whoever loves for the sake of Allah and got angry for the sake of Allah, and whoever marries for the sake of Allah, he perfected his faith? (28)

قال رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم: لم ير للمتحابين مثل التزوج۔
The Prophet (PBUH) said that two lovers look good only when they are connected through marriage. (29)

مشيك الى المسجد وانصرافك الى أھلك فى الأجر سواء:
“Walking towards the mosque and then returning to your wife or family is equal in reward.” (30)

إذا خرج العبد فى حاجة أھله کتب اللہ تعالى له بکل خطوة درجة، وإذا فرغ من حاجته غفر له:
“When a man goes out to meet the needs of his wife, Allah writes an elevation for every step he takes, and when he meets her needs, he is forgiven.” (31)

عن طاؤس قال: لا يتم نسك الشاب حتى يتزوج:
It is narrated from the famous Tabei (companion’s companion) Taus that the worship of a young man is not complete until he gets married.(32)

عن سعيد بن جبير قال: قال لى ابن عباس ھل تزوجت؟ قلت لا، قال فتزوج، فإن خير ھذہ الأمة أکثرھا نساءً:
“It is narrated by Saeed ibn Jubayr that Ibn ‘Abbas (RA) asked me, “Are you married?” I said no. He said, “Marry, because the best person of this ummah (i.e., the messenger of Allah (PBUH)) had many wives.”(33)

قال رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم: مسکين مسکين مسکين رجل ليس له إمرأة، وإن کان کثير المال۔ مسکينة مسکينة مسکينة إمرأة ليس لھا زوج وإن کانت کثيرة المال:
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “He is poor, he is poor, he is poor, who does not have a wife, although he is very rich. In the same way, the woman is poor, she is poor, she is poor, who is without a husband, even though she is very rich.” (34)

Allama Ibn Hammam, commentator of Hidaya, wrotes in his commentary that marriage is closer to worship, but it is better than engaging oneself in nafli (supererogatory) worship. (35)

An Important Feature of Adam’s Shariah
Some scholars say that the marriage is a ritual that has been prescribed as an act of worship since the time of Adam. This will also continue in Paradise.(36)

The fact is that from the time of Adam (PBUH) to the time of the Islamic Ummah, no Shari’ah has passed without marriage. And in this respect it has been the Sunnah of all the Prophets, except for one or two exceptional cases. It is also possible that there may be some differences in other Shari’ahs in the terms of marriage etc. But as far as marriage itself is concerned, it was a common thing in the lives of all the prophets. As for the issue of monasticism found in Christianity (which had gained great sanctity there), it was never prescribed in the law of God. Rather, it was planted by the Christians themselves. In that sense, it is a human invention, as the Allah’s saying goes:

وَرَھْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوھَا ماکَتَبْنھَا عَلَيْهمْ اِلاّ ابْتِغَاءَ رِضْوَانِ اللّہِ، فَمَا رَعَوْھَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِھَا، فَاتَيْنَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا مِنْھُمْ اَجْرَھُمْ وَکَثِيْرٌ مِنْھُمْ فَاسِقُوْنَ.
And the monasticism (renouncing worldly pursuits) which they invented, we did not prescribe to them except seeking the pleasure of Allah. Yet they could not live up to it (even their own invention) with its due right. In any case, we rewarded the honest people among them. But many of them are wicked.” (Hadid: 1)

The fact is that the original Shari’ah for the Christians was the Torah or the Shari’ah of Moses, from which they deviated and introduced the heresy of abstraction and monasticism. But according to the Qur’an, they did not act honestly. That is, they trampled their own principles with their own hands, and this is a long story.

In a nutshell, marriage has been prescribed not only since the time of Adam (AS) but it is also an important feature of the Shari’ah of Adam (AS), and deviating from marriage is deviating from the original Shari’ah. There are plethora of advantages in married life and not only are there many disadvantages in unmarried life but sometimes there is a danger of suffering from tribulations. Therefore, the both reason and Shari’ah requires that it should not be deviated. ( to be cont.)

References:
8 –Al Targheeb Wat Tarheeb, Zakiuddin Munziri, V. 3, P. 257, Darul Fikr.
9 – Sahih Bukhari, V. 6, P. 124, Sahih Muslim, V. 4, P. 2097, Riyadh.
10 – Jami Tirmizi, V. 3, P. 476; Sahih Ibn Khuzaima, V. 3, P. 93, Beirut; Tabrani, V. 10, P. 132.
11 – Some of its examples may be referred in Lecky’s famous book “History of European Morals.
12 – The cost of marriage refers to the amount of dowry, especially in Islamic law, as will be explained later.
13 – Bukhari, Book of Marriage, V. 6, P. 117; Muslim, Marriage, V. 2, P. 1019; Tirmizi, V. 3, P. 392; Nasa’ie, V. 2, P. 675 (Compiled by Nasiruddin Albani, Beirut); Ibn Majah, V. 1, P. 592 (compiled by Md. Fouad Abdul Baqi, Beirut); Musnad Ahmed (Al Fathur Rabbani), V. 16; 138; Sunan Darimi, V. 2, P. 132; Sunan Saeed Bin Mansour, V. 1 P. 121; Al Sunan Al Kubra, Baihaqi, V. 7, P. 77.
14 – Sunan Nasa’ie, Book of Marriage, V. 2, P. 675, Al Maktab Al Islami, Beirut.
15 – Sunan Darimi, Book of Marriage, V. 2, P. 132, Darul Kutub Al Ilmiyah, Beirut.
16 – Al Sunan Al Kubra, Baihaqi, V. 7, P. 78, Multan, Pakistan.
17 – Musannaf Abdul Razzaq, With reference to Kanz ul-Ummal, V. 16, P. 272, Muassatr Risala, Beirut.
18 – Sunan Abi Dawood, V. 2, P. 349, Hims, Syria; Al Fathur Rabbani, V. 16, P. 143; Mustadrak Hakim, V. 2, P. 159-160, Darul Ma’rifa, Beirut.
19 – Fathul Bari, Ibn Hajar, V. 9, P. 119, Riyadh.
20 – Sahih Bukhari, Book of Marriage, V. 6, P. 116; Sahih Muslim, Book of Marriage, V. 2, P. 1022.
21 – Musannaf Abdul Razzaq, compiled by Hibibur Rahman Azmi, V. 6, P. 167-168, Majlis Ilmi, Gujarat, 1972/1392 AH.
22 – Refer my book “Women and Islam” for details on this subject.
23 – See, Sociology: Human Society, P. 544, USA, 1976. The author has discussed this topic in his booklet “Polygamy: An Overview”.
24 – Musnad Ahmed, With reference to Kanz ul-Ummal, V. 16, P. 271.
25 – Mustadrak Hakim, V. 2, P. 161, Darul Ma’rifa, Beirut.
26 – Kanz ul-Ummal, V. 16, P. 278, Mu’assatur Risalah, Beirut.
27 – Sunan Saeed Bin Mansoor, Compiled by Habibur Rahman Azmi, V. 1, P. 124, Malis Ilmi.
28 – Mustadrak Hakim, Book of Marriage, V. 2, P. 164.
29 – Ibn Majah, V. 1, P. 593; Mustadrak, V. 2, P. 160; Sunan Saeed Bin Mansour, V. 1, P. 122.
30 – Sunan Saeed Bin Mansour, V. 16, P. 272.
31 – Dailami Musnad Firdous, With reference to Kanz ul-Ummal, V. 16, P. 282.
32 – Sunan Saeed Bin Mansour, V. 1, P. 123.
33 – Sahih Bukhari, V. 6, P. 118.
34 – Tabrani, With reference to Majma’uz Zawaid, Compiled by Nooruddin Haithami, Darul Kutub al-Ilmiyah, V. 4, P. 252; Baihaqi, With ref. to Kanz ul-Ummal, V. 16, P. 278-279; Sunan Saeed Bin Mansour, V. 1, P. 121; Jami al-Usool, V. 11, P. 429,
35 – Fathul Qadir Sharh Hidaya, V. 3, P. 98, Al Maktaba Al Rasheedia, Quetta, Pakistan.
36 – Durr e Mukhtar Bar Hashia Radd e Muhtar, V. 2, P. 280, Quetta, Pakistan.