Description
Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) reported, the Prophet(ﷺ)said
"A woman is married for four reasons: for her wealth, for her class, for her beauty or for her piety. Select the pious, may your hand be rubbed in the dust!"
In this Hadith, this is a reference that men's most desirable marriage purposes revolve around these four. wealth, class, beauty and piety.
There are some benefits in this Hadith:
There is no problem if anyone marries a woman for her wealth because the Prophet (ﷺ) approved this but he urged to marry the religious woman.
There is no problem if the man marries a woman for her class to upgrade himself and his children.
The woman can be married for her beauty. So, there is no problem if she is married for her beauty. Maybe the man likes beauty and cannot stand looking at a woman who is not as men are so different in this respect.
A woman may be married for her piety even if this is the only purpose.
The best one of these purposes is to marry a woman for her piety as he said (ﷺ)
"Select the pious, may your hand be rubbed in the dust."
Everyone should follow the Prophet's advice. However, nowadays, most people marry a woman for her beauty and others for her wealth and class. Are these the only purposes? No, the proof is in the above- mentioned Hadith,
"Marry the one who is fertile and loving."
Compatibility in marriage involves three aspects:
Compatibility in terms of religion, which is divided into two: difference in terms of religion (i.e., belief and disbelief), and difference in terms of religious commitment (i.e., disobedience and obedience). Compatibility in terms of religion is very essential. According to the consensus of Muslim jurists and the dictate of textual evidence, a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a disbelieving man:
"then, if you ascertain that they are true believers, send them not back to the disbelievers. They are not lawful (wives) for the disbelievers nor are the disbelievers lawful (husbands) for them." [Sürah Al-Mumtahinah (60):10]
This is because she is superior to him [on the merit of her belief in Islām). An exception is made when a Muslim man is allowed to marry a woman from the People of the Book because the husband here is superior to the woman.
The Qur'anic text states that it is lawful for a believing man to marry a woman from the People of the Book. Allah (Glorified & Exalted is He) says:
"Made lawful to you this day are At-Tayyibât [all kinds of Halal (lawful) foods, which Allah has made lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables, and fruits)].
The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you, and yours is lawful to them.
(Lawful to you in marriage) are chaste women from the believers and chaste women from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before your time
when you have given their due Mahr (bridal-money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), desiring chastity (i.e., taking them in legal wedlock) not committing illegal sexual intercourse, nor taking them as girl-friends." [Sürah Al-Ma'idah (5):5]
However, many Muslim predecessors (Salaf) disliked that a Muslim man marries a woman from the People of the Book if he could marry a Muslim woman.
