• A further advantage is the affection, love, and mercy that blossom between husband and wife. A human being needs a companion in life who shares his worries and sorrows and partakes of his joys and pleasures. Hidden within the marriage covenant is a profound divine secret: when Allah wills harmony, He places between the spouses bonds of friendship and compassion such as two friends or even relatives do not achieve except after long association. The Almighty alludes to this in His words, “And of His signs is that He created for you, from your own selves, spouses so that you might find tranquillity in them, and He has placed between you affection and mercy; surely in that are signs for a people who reflect” [30:21].
• Another benefit lies in the establishment of the home and the family that results from the union of the spouses, for this is the very nucleus of society’s existence and soundness. The husband toils, strives, and earns, then spends and provides. The wife manages the household, organises daily life, nurtures the children, and attends to their affairs. In this way conditions become orderly and life is set aright. Thus it becomes clear that a woman’s work inside her home is great—no less significant than the man’s work outside it—and that when she conscientiously fulfils what has been entrusted to her, she renders to the entire community immense and noble service. Those who wish to remove her from her domestic station so that she may compete with the man in his work have strayed far from recognising the interests of both religion and worldly life.
The benefits of marriage are more than pens can record or minds can encompass, for it is a divinely legislated institution designed to secure the welfare of both the Hereafter and this world. Yet it has etiquettes and limits that both parties must observe so that the blessing may be perfected, happiness realised, and life remain serene—namely, that each spouse fulfil the rights due to the other and attend to the obligations that rest upon him or her.
The husband’s duties include providing maintenance—fair sustenance, clothing, and housing—and doing so with a generous spirit; treating his wife with kindness and gentleness, cheerfulness and warmth, and good companionship. The wife, for her part, is to serve him, keep his home in order, manage the household budget, treat the children well and raise them, safeguard him in her person, his home, and his wealth, and meet him with an open, smiling face. She should prepare the means of his comfort and bring joy to his heart so that, after the toil and strain of work, he finds within his home happiness, relief, and repose.
When each of the two discharges the rights and duties owed to the other, their life together becomes blessed and their union praiseworthy. Cheerfulness and delight hover over their home, and the children grow up in this serene, peaceful atmosphere, maturing with noble dispositions, fine manners, and gentle character.
This marriage, of which we have outlined some of its benefits and explained the means to happiness, is the marriage