The Muslim Woman and Marriage - NikahExplorer

Allah has prescribed marriage for every Muslim man and woman so that they live together in love, peace and tranquility. He has raised the significance of marriage in the religion and encouraged everyone to follow it. However, at the same time, Allah does not say that only through getting married will your imaan rise and only through marriage you will get success in Allah’s books.

This is a very important issue that all Muslims need to realize, especially when it comes to Muslim women. In our society, marriage is considered not only important but absolutely essential. So much so that if a person, especially a woman, remains single for a long time, it is considered a taboo. This is a ridiculous thinking because marriage is something that is not in our control. Allah will give us the blessed relationship of marriage if we pray and when He thinks the time is right.

Many Muslim women, no matter how successful they are in life, are known to be incomplete till they marry and have children. And while Allah has strongly recommended raising families through marriage, nowhere does He say that the criteria for success of a woman in Allah’s books is only marriage. The Muslim woman should be successful not only in terms of her family life but also financially, give a lot of charity, be kind, respect her elders, work for the betterment of society and be a good woman. That is the description and parameter of success for a woman.

So let us not let societal pressures and norms overtake what exactly Allah wants out of the role of a woman in Islam. Allah has given a woman exceptional qualities, compassion, kindness, strength and the ability to give unlimited love. Let the woman live and nurture these qualities and that should define her value and her parameter of success. Yes, she should be all that she is capable of but also never lose sight of the idea of marriage. She should be open to it and when the time and place is right, she will meet her soul mate and not even know that she wanted it all along.

We must remember that Allah did not make women as machines to marry and produce children, rather He made women as carriers of love, patience and compassion. If marriage had been the absolute essential ingredient to have faith and be in the good books of Allah, Hazrat Mariam would not have been single all her life, Hazrat Khadijah would not have been a successful businesswoman inspite of her divorce.

So let’s realize this simple fact and make life easier for women in Islam. Encourage them to marry but don’t force them. Advise them but don’t ridicule them. Celebrate her achievements because Allah has given her the ability to achieve those.