Marriage in Islam

 

Marriage is the root of the family structure in society. It is the legal frame for the relief of desires as well as the vital link between generations through children in the family. An enabling environment for the proper upbringing of children in secular affairs and in spiritual ways, the bonds of marriage and family indeed facilitates the construction of a peaceful and harmonious society. In his Friday Sermons of 24 September 2010 [15 Shawwal 1431 Hijri] & 01 October 2010 [22 Shawwal 1431 Hijri], Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius gave a comprehensive exposition on the larger objectives and purposes of the institution of marriage in Islam; explaining the considerations that should guide a Muslim in choosing a life partner. 

In the second discourse, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) explains sacred teachings of the Holy Prophet (sa) on marriage-related questions that emerged in the life and times of the pious companions. The discourse clearly affirms that it is illegal to marry off a woman against her will. Parents or guardians cannot coerce a Muslim woman into a marriage she dislikes. And free consent is a condition precedent to the legal validity of a Muslim marriage. Hazrat Saheb (aba) also notes that Muslim men are not allowed to wear gold ornaments. The believers need to keep in mind the Shari’ah-compliance of cultural traditions associated with marriage rites in their local communities. The principle is illustrated with reference to the exchange of engagement rings as a symbol of the marital commitment.    

 

Read extracts from the two Friday Sermons Below:

 

Marriage: an act of worship. The conservation of life and its continuation until Judgement Day are part of the teachings of Islam and that is why it encouraged marriage and preferred that the couple after becoming parents and children, they have grandchildren.

 

"Allah has given you from yourselves wives, and from your wives gave you children and grandchildren. And He gave you good things." (16:73)

Patience and Hope in God

  

"O you who believe! be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful." (The Holy Qur'an, 3:201)

 

Life is a strain to which every believer is called to deal with a lot of patience. God commands the believer repeatedly in the Holy Quran to persevere in patience and constancy in the face of disasters and hardships of life. In that patience lies the happiness of the hereafter.

 

"If Allah gives you His help, none can overcome you. If He forsakes you, who is there then that can assist you after Him? In Allah the believers must put their trust." (3:161)

 

Misfortunes and calamities that visit the believer from God, such as, impatience and frustration cannot eliminate them. The believer must put absolute and clear trust in Allah to be spared from all harm because no one else can help him except God. Anything that affects the Muslim, be it exhaustion, disease, sorrow, pain, suffering or distress, "surely, God is with those who are patient." (2:154)

The First Command of Allah

In his Divinely-inspired commentary of the Holy Qur'an entitled 'Al Azim Tafsirul Qur'an', Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Al Muhyiuddin Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius gives a profound exposition on the first commandment of the Qur'an- the duty to worship the true Lord to the exclusion of all other imagined deities so that humans could guard against evil and become righteous. For the benefit of all sincere seekers of higher wisdom, we reproduce below the holy verse of the Qur'an and its commentary by  Hazrat Saheb (aba): 

2:22. Yaa- ‘ayyu-han-naasu bu-duu Rabba-kumullazii khalaqal-kum wallaziina min-qablikum la-‘allakum tattaquun.

 

O men! Worship your Lord Who created you and those before you so that you may guard (against evil).

 

This verse contains the first commandment and is addressed to all mankind and not to the Arabs only. This indicates that Islam, from the very beginning claimed to be a universal religion, which conceived mankind as one brotherhood. Allah is full of pity to all His creatures and He will never punish anyone as long as He does not send His Messenger.

 

If we, men, really we have a sensitive heart, recognising the beauty and value of Allah’s creation, realising that God gifted us with basic necessities of life for free for a limited time, so we have to worship only Him and not to associate anything or anybody to Him.

Gaza: Ceasefire Now

 

Given Israel’s prolonged military occupation of Palestinian Territories since the 1967 war, and its grossly unfair and unjust treatment of the 5 million Palestinian people desirous of national freedom, human dignity and basic rights; the deception, duplicity and betrayal that marked its state conduct even after the signing the Oslo Peace Agreements with the Palestinian national movement in the early 1990s, especially its high crime of obstructing the emergence of a viable and independent Palestinian State in the illegally-occupied and confiscated territories; the October 7 declaration of 'Operation Al Aqsa Storm' by the Hamas military wing marks a transformational moment in the wider region.

 

Seeking to avenge its sense of national humiliation over the killing of over 300 soldiers and around 800 civilians as well as hostages taken away into Gaza, Israel lost a sense of proportion in its war against Hamas, unleashing rampant bombing of Palestinian cities and villages- including schools, hospitals and UN refugee camps; displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians from their habitats; killing thousands of innocent children, women and the aged. The already long-besieged enclave of Gaza- the largest ‘open-prison’ in the world with Israel controlling entry and exit points of the Strip-  is now facing a humanitarian disaster with the blockade of even essential food, clean water, medicine and fuel. 

The attitude of the United States, as well as the European states betray their indulgence of Israeli military excesses against the civilian population in the occupied territories. As against the fundamental rules of international law and the demands of international humanitarian law, Israel somehow seems to have an exception crafted into the rules of conduct when it comes to equal application. Such glaring injustice invites resistance, one way or the other.  Against the backdrop of the ongoing bombing of the Palestinian territories, and collective punishment of the people by Israel, leaders of Arab States assembled in Egypt to share a message of peace and prudence to the international community; outlining the immediate steps required to address the conflict, as well as the contours of a shared future for Jews, Christians and Muslims in the region. Reproduced Below is the full text of Jordan’s King Abdullah II remarks at Cairo Summit for Peace on 21 October 2023.