Marriage is one of the most beautiful experiences of human life. As Muslims, we believe that if we are destined to get married, we will meet the person when the time is right, Insya’Allah. Allah s.w.t. creates us in pairs and grants us love in our hearts to love another human being.
The Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
لَمْ نَرَ لِلْمُتَحَابَّيْنِ مِثْلَ النِّكَاحِ
"There is nothing like marriage, for the two who love one another.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah)
However, it does not mean that someone lacks iman just because he or she is not married. There were some notable companions, scholars and figures in our classical Islamic tradition who did not get married. Maryam a.s, one of the best women in paradise, was not married.
Rasulullah s.a.w. encouraged his followers to get married if we have the means to do so. Celibacy is not a practice endorsed by Rasulullah s.a.w. In a hadith, three companions approached the Prophet s.a.w. to tell him of their vigorous commitments to achieve a high status in the eyes of Allah s.w.t. One of them told the Prophet s.a.w. that he will remain celibate as a sign of his zealous religious devotion.
The Prophet s.a.w. answered by saying that even he himself marries. That is not a way to prove one’s devotion. Whoever rejects the path of the Prophet’s way of life is not amongst him.
This is not the case, however, for those who do not reject marriage but are also not married due to certain circumstances. Some notable scholars of the past do not prohibit themselves from marriage but were too caught up in their pursuit of knowledge that their time to leave this world later preceded any opportunity for marriage.
أَرْبَعٌ مِنْ سُنَنِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ: الْحَيَاءُ وَالتَّعَطُّرُ وَالسِّوَاكُ وَالنِّكَاحُ
“Four are from the practices of the Messengers:
modesty, the use of perfume, the use of the tooth-stick, and marriage.”
(Sunan At-Tirmizi)
As seen in this hadith, it is not just Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. but other Messengers before him who got married too.