Yes, dear brother: when you marry, look for a woman of faith; do not be taken in by fame or fortune. Wealth often turns into a burden, and the woman will not hand it over to you. When you set out to choose a wife, do not do so merely to satisfy desire; rather, seek her with the intention that she be devout and upright, so that she may remain honorably within your household, obey you in what is right, and serve as a shield for you from the Fire.
A story: On one occasion ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak was visited by 10 scholars. He had nothing with which to entertain them, and he owned nothing in this world save a horse on which he would ride to the pilgrimage one year and to the battlefield the next. He slaughtered the horse, cooked its meat, and set it before his guests. His wife exclaimed, “Glory be to Allah! You possessed nothing of this world but that horse—why did you kill it?” He immediately went inside, brought out property equal in value to her dowry, and divorced her on the spot, saying, “A woman who dislikes guests is not fit for us.”
A few days later a man came to him and said, “O Imam of the Muslims, I have a daughter whose mother has died. Every day she tears up a dress in grief and sorrow. Today she wishes to attend your gathering; please say something to console her so that her heart may soften.” When Ibn al-Mubarak ascended the pulpit, he spoke on this very subject in a way that comforted the girl over her mother’s death. When she returned home she said, “Father, I have repented and will never again anger Allah. Yet I have a request.” He asked, “What is it?” She replied, “You always say that men of spiritual rank and worldly station alike seek my hand. I implore you by Allah: do not marry me to anyone but ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak. If he lacks worldly goods, we possess enough for both of us.”
Her father thereupon married her to Ibn al-Mubarak, sending with her abundant furnishings and a large sum of money, together with 10 horses for him to use in striving in the path of Allah. One night Ibn al-Mubarak dreamed that someone said to him, “Because you divorced an older woman for Our sake, We have granted you a young virgin; because you sacrificed one horse, We have given you 10 in its place. Know, then, that with Us a single good deed is rewarded tenfold, and the reward of the doers of good is never lost. No one who deals with Us ever suffers a loss.” Such is the story.
Another story: Abū Saʿīd told of a righteous man among the Children of Israel who had a devout, God-fearing wife of sound judgment and firm resolve. Allah revealed to the prophet of that time: “Tell that righteous servant that I have decreed for him that half of his life shall be spent in affluence and half in poverty. If he chooses wealth in his youth, We shall enrich him then; but if he prefers to have it in his old age, We shall decree it accordingly.”