Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle

and who cares for her religion. Wealth and beauty should not be his
priorities. He should not opt for wealth and beauty at the sacrifice of
chastity and piety. In a hadîth-i-sherîf Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi
wa sallam’ said: “One marries a woman either for her wealth or for
her beauty or for her religion (her piety). You choose the one who
is religious. A person who marries a girl because of her money will
not be able to possess her money; a person who marries a girl only
for her beauty will be deprived of her beauty.” It would be the ideal
if one can find a girl who is beautiful and pious. It is not permissible
for a Muslim girl to marry a man who is a disbeliever. When she
intends to marry him, she becomes an apostate. It would be a
marriage between two disbelievers. Both of them would have to
renew their îmân and nikâh.
Seeing the girl before the nikâh is a sunnat; also it will facilitate
a good relationship between the mates during marriage. One
should search for a sâliha (pious) girl who has good manners, who
has a noble ancestry, and who is fertile. Scholars advise against
four types of women:
1 - A divorced woman who lived comfortably with her former
husband and now is longing for those days and recollecting them.
2 - One should not marry a girl who brags about her wealth,
social status, or ancestry.
3 - One should not marry a girl who will distribute her
husband’s property among her own relatives or acquaintances.
4 - One should avoid marrying a woman who is reputed to be
immodest and would cause scandals.
A hadîth-i-sherîf which states, “Do not smell roses that grow
on dunghills,” commands us not to marry a base and immoral
person. [A young man married a girl in Bukhâra (a city in central
Asia). The first night the bride asked the groom if he had learned
the knowledge of haidh (menstruation). The young man answered
in the negative. The bride then said, “Allâhu ta’âlâ commands,
‘Protect yourself and those under your command from Hell-fire!’
How can an ignorant man protect them?” The young man liked
her statement so much that he entrusted his bride to Allâhu ta’âlâ
and departed to study. He studied at Marw for fifteen years. He
also studied under Imam al-Muhammad ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih’ memorizing everything in six years, and came back to his
wife as an ’âlim (scholar). His teacher named him as Abû Hafs al-
Kabîr rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih.’]
A person who plans to enter into a marriage should make
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