وَأَنكِحُوا الْأَيَامَى مِنكُمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ عِبَادِكُمْ وَإِمَائِكُمْ إِن يَكُونُوا فُقَرَاء يُغْنِهِمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Marry off those who are single among you and the upright among your male slaves and your female slaves. If they are poor, Allah will enrich them out of His grace, and Allah is all-bounteous, all-knowing.

 EXEGESIS

Ankiḥū (marry off) is the plural imperative of the fourth form of nakaḥa and must be read with hamzat al-qaṭʿ, and means to marry off, meaning support them financially or otherwise, to marry.

Ayāmā (singles) is the plural of ayyim,[1] which refers to a man or woman who does not have a spouse, regardless of whether they have been married before or not.[2]

EXPOSITION

From the topic of hijab, the surah now moves on to marriage, perhaps the most important foundation of modesty and for avoiding zināʾ. It is critical that in any effort to limit destructive and harmful aspects of human desires and impulses, it is not enough to simply forbid, but rather an alternative should be presented. Since God in previous verses spoke extensively about the prohibition of zināʾ, it is only fitting that He now directs the believers to the correct way in which to practice their sexuality.[3]

In this verse and the next, God commands the believers to not only seek the institution of marriage for themselves, but also to create a society that is conducive to following God’s ‘clear command’ by facilitating marriage and making it accessible to all who wish it. It is this institution that acts as the cornerstone of morality and a healthy society.

In addition to preventing sexual immorality, marriage has a critical role in preventing many other ills. It acts as an anchor for young men and women, grounding them in responsibility for a spouse and family, and channels their energies into positive contribution rather than destructive or criminal tendencies. It gives purpose and meaning to people’s efforts, making them strive for a better society and future for their children. It gives women and men emotional security to be able to enjoy life and grow as individuals, and the confidence and support to allow them to pursue their goals and objectives. In truth, an entire book could be written enumerating the benefits of marriage. The Quran has referred to some benefits of marriage; one of them is the emotional aspect, And of His signs is that He created for you mates from your own selves that you may take comfort in them, and He ordained affection and mercy between you (30:21). It is said this is perhaps the most important benefit of marriage.[4] By nature, humans yearn for love, emotional support, and partnership. Another is referred to in the verse, your wives: they are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them (2:187).

Marry off those who are single among you: generally speaking, every capable Muslim has the duty to seek marriage and to live according to the command of God and the Sunna of His Prophet where possible. In addition to that individual duty, there is also the shared societal duty of helping other Muslims get married. This duty is imposed on the community of Muslims and can include things such as: 1. Removing unnecessary barriers to marriage such as high dowries or needlessly high expectations with regards to level of education, and suchlike. 2. Encouraging marriage and promoting it and its advantages.[5] 3. Helping people find suitable partners by acting as an intermediary for introductions, establishing institutions and groups for that purpose, or creating other avenues through which people may come to be acquainted with each other within an Islamic framework.

It should be kept in mind that when combatting sin, both positive and negative means should be utilised. While certain preliminaries to that sin may be prohibited, other preventative measures should be encouraged.[6] One of these is making marriage easy. The Muslim community would do well to remember that Satan has made committing sin easy, especially the sin of zināʾ in the context of many modern societies. If the Muslim community on the other hand makes marriage difficult, it should come as no surprise which path many youths will then choose to travel. In short, combatting zināʾ is an effort in which the whole Muslim community must participate, and one of those avenues of resistance is through easy and simple marriage, upon the Sunna of the Messenger of God.

Even though it may not always be compulsory to get married, the innovation of monasticism which is found in some world religions is not something allowed in Islam, and it is contrary to the Sunna and exhortations of the Prophet. God declares regarding monasticism: But as for monasticism, they innovated it – We had not prescribed it for them (57:27).

It is also worth noting that forcing someone to marry, whether a woman or a man, is not permissible, and one of the necessary conditions for the validity of a marriage is the acceptance of both parties (groom and bride). The concept of forced marriage is completely contrary to the principles of the shariah and its clear rulings.

And the upright among your male slaves and your female slaves: though some have suggested that upright means faith,[7] it is more appropriate to understand it as meaning those who are suitable for marriage,[8] or simply have good conduct.[9] It has also been said that the upright are specified because when the slave is upright the owner looks at them as they would at their own children and wishes to help them in life, even being allowed to leave them inheritance.[10]

Marry off those who are single among you already laid out a general duty to help others in this regard, but the specification of slaves afterwards adds further emphasis that this duty should especially be extended to the less economically fortunate, who are more in need of help than others.

If they are poor, Allah will enrich them out of His grace: they is referring to anyone who wishes to get married, and not just slaves. The command is addressed to the women and their guardians, that they should not refuse a suitor, thinking he is too poor.[11]

No one should fear or avoid marriage, thinking that they cannot afford it. God promises in this verse that the one who marries for the sake of safeguarding their religion, God acts as his guarantor and will provide them with the necessary financial means. Key here of course is ‘necessary means’. Too often some have unnecessary or even unrealistic expectations as to what their lifestyle should be, which itself acts as an impediment to not just marriage, but even happiness in general.

Nevertheless, in some cases it might be that a person marries and still does not come across enough money to truly provide for his family’s basic needs. Ālūsī suggests that it could be because it is not in the actual benefit and interest of that person and that is why God ends the verse by saying He is all-knowing, meaning He knows what is in the interest of everyone.[12] What is certain is that God’s promise is never false and His bounties are ever flowing to His goodly servants, For those who do good in this world there will be a good [reward], and the abode of the hereafter is better (16:30). If one experiences difficulties in life they should turn in patience to God and rely on Him, And whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make a way out for him, and provide for him from whence he does not reckon (65:2-3).

In any case, the message of the verse is clear: no one should think that by avoiding getting married or having kids they can achieve greater material success. This type of thinking has of course become quite popular today, and many of the younger generation avoid marriage and children for this very reason. The truth is that wealth and poverty are both things which are decreed by God, and we should not let ourselves be fooled by external causes into thinking otherwise.[13]

At the same time, this verse also serves as a reminder for women and their guardians that they should not refuse and turn away a good suitor because they think him to be poor, but rather if he is righteous and pious they should overlook his poverty and rely on God, who promises to provide.[14] Thus we find that Prophet Shuʿayb (a) himself suggested his daughter in marriage to the penniless Prophet Moses (a), Indeed I desire to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine (28:27). That is worth consideration indeed. How many fathers would suggest their daughter in marriage, and that to a penniless man?

And Allah is all-bounteous, all-knowing: He is all-bounteous, being able to give them from His boundless bounties, and all-knowing, keenly aware of what they need and require.[15] All-bounteous (wāsiʿ) when used as a name of God in the verse endings of the Quran is always paired with all-knowing (ʿalīm).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Muhammad ibn Muslim, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) related Imam Ali (a) as saying: ‘Marry, for verily the Messenger of God – blessings of God be upon him and his family – has said: “Whoever wishes to follows my Sunna, [know that] marriage is of my Sunna.”’[16]
2. From Ibn Qaddāḥ, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) related from the Prophet: ‘Whoever loves my lifestyle, let him follow my Sunna, and a part of my Sunna is marriage.’[17]
3. From Kulayb ibn Muʿāwiyah al-Asadī, from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever gets married has guarded half his faith, so let him be God-conscious as regards the remaining half.’[18]
4. From ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, that the Prophet said: ‘O gathering of youth, whoever amongst you has the necessary physical capacity, let him get married, for certainly that is better for guarding one’s eyes and chastity. The one who is not capable of that, let him fast, as that quells lust.’[19]
5. From Sahl ibn Ḥunayf, that the Prophet said: ‘Marry and procreate, for I will exceed through you all nations.’[20]
6. From Samurah ibn Jundab, that the Prophet forbade people from celibacy.[21]
7. From Abī Najīḥ al-Sulamī, that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever can get married but does not do so, is not from us.’[22]
8. From Abū Umāmah, that the Prophet said: ‘Four are cursed by God from above His Throne, [a curse] echoed by the angels: the one who keeps celibate from women and does not marry or draw near them for fear that he may have a child; the man who makes himself out to be like women, even though God has created him a man; the woman who makes herself out to be like men, even though God has created her a woman; and the one who abuses the destitute.’[23]
9. From Ibn Qaddāḥ, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (s) said: ‘Two units prayed by a married person are better than seventy units prayed by one who is not married.’[24]
10. From Ḥāṭib ibn Abī Baltaʿah, that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever’s son reaches puberty and has the opportunity to get him married but does not do so, and he then commits a sin, that sin is shared between the two of them.’[25]
11. From Abū Ḥātim al-Muzanī, that the Prophet said: ‘When someone comes to you whose piety and manners is pleasing to you, help him get married. If you do not do that then there will be tribulation (fitnah) in the land and great corruption.’[26]
12. From al-Sakūnī, from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘The best type of intercession is to intercede between two people in the issue of marriage until God joins them together.’[27]
13. From Samāʿah ibn Mihrān, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever helps a bachelor get married will be amongst those upon whom God will look at [with mercy] on the Day of Judgement.’[28]
14. From Ali ibn Jaʿfar, that Imam al-Kāẓim (a) said: ‘Three will be given shade under the Throne of God on the day when there is no other shade: the man who helps his Muslim brother get married, or does him a service, or keeps his secret.’[29]
15. From Walīd ibn Ṣabīḥ, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) reported through his fathers, that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever does not marry, fearing poverty, has thought poorly of God, for praised be He has said: If they are poor, Allah will enrich them out of His grace.’[30]
16. From Hishām ibn Sālim, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A man came to the Prophet (s) and complained about his [financial] needs, and he told him to get married. He did so and his sustenance was increased for him.’[31]
17. From Abū Baṣīr, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A young man from the Anṣār came to the Messenger of God (s) and complained to him about his [financial] needs; he told him to get married. The youth then said [to himself]: “I am ashamed to go back to the Messenger of God [and complain about this issue again].” He then met another man from the Anṣār who told him: “I have a pretty daughter to whom I can wed you.” And so it was that his [sustenance] was increased for him by God and the young man went to the Messenger of God and told him what happened. The Messenger of God then proclaimed: “O young men! You should get married!”’[32]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

It has been suggested that enrichment refers to enrichment in the sense of contentment of the soul, meaning God will make them content with their life.[33] However, this is contrary to the meaning supported by the reports. If we wish to adopt this meaning then it may be prudent to understand enrichment in the next verse, Those who cannot find [the means to] marriage should be continent until Allah enriches them out of His grace, in the same manner.

Another suggestion has been that enrichment refers to the bounty of God, not materially, but in the sense of God helping them get married, which is a bounty from Him.[34]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.[35]
2. Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.[36]

[1] Zamakhshari, 3/233, says that ayāmā is originally ayāʾim, like yatāmā (orphan, singular yatīm) which is actually yatāʾim, however in usage ayāmā and yatāmā are utilised.
[2] Tabrisi, 7/219; Thalabi, 7/89; Zamakhshari, 3/233. Some exegetes have mentioned ayyim originally referred to unmarried women, however the word has then been adopted for both (Qurtubi, 6/182; Nemuneh, 14/457). Others have said it could also refer to a woman whose husband has passed away (Ahkam, 3/1376).
[3] See also Munyah, 19/109.
[4] Qaraati, 6/177.
[5] Nemuneh, 14/457.
[6] See Nemuneh, 14/456.
[7] Qurtubi, 6/183.
[8] Mizan, 15/113.
[9] Zamakhshari, 3/233-234.
[10] Muhit, 8/38.
[11] Munyah, 19/110.
[12] Alusi, 9/342.
[13] See also Alusi, 9/343.
[14] Alusi, 9/343; Tantawi, 10/122.
[15] Tabrisi, 7/220.
[16] Kafi, 5/329; Wasail, 20/18, h. 24911. See also Khisal, p. 615.
[17] Kafi, 5/494; Wasail, 20/107, h. 25157 and 25159; Tabrisi, 7/220; Thalabi, 7/90; ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī, al-Muṣannaf, ed. Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān al-Aʿẓamī (Manshūrāt al-Majlis al-ʿIlmī, n.d.), 6/169, h. 10378 and 10379. See also Wasail, 20/18-19, h. 24911.
[18] Kafi, 5/329; Faqih, 3/383, h. 4342; Wasail, 20/17, h. 24909 and 24910; Nur, 3/596. See also Haythami, 4/252; Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ (Dār al-Ḥaramayn, 1995), 7/332; Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1981), 2/589, h. 8591.
[19] Tabrisi, 7/220; Mustadrak.W, 14/153, h. 16350; Darimi, 2/132; Bukhari, 6/117, h. 5066; Muslim, 4/128, h. 1400. See also, Ahmad, 1/58; Bukhari, 2/228-229, h. 5065.
[20] Thalabi, 7/89; Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī (Qum: Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, 1983), 1/259, 2/125, 261; Mustadrak.W, 14/153, h. 16346; Ibn Majah, 1/592, h. 1846; Haythami, 4/253. See also Kafi, 6/2; Faqih, 3/383, h. 4344; Wasail, 20/14, h. 24899; ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Ṣanʿānī, al-Muṣannaf, ed. Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān al-Aʿẓamī (Mansḥūrāt al-Majlis al-ʿIlmī, n.d.), 6/173, h. 10391; Bayhaqi, 7/78.
[21] Thalabi, 7/90; Ahmad, 5/17; Ibn Majah, 1/593; Tirmidhi, 2/273, h. 1089; Nasai.K, 6/59.
[22] Thalabi, 7/90; Makarim, p. 196.
[23] Tabrisi, 7/194; Thalabi, 7/91; Mustadrak.W, 13/203, h. 15107.
[24] Kafi, 5/328; Faqih, 3/384, h. 4346; Tahdhib, 7239, h. 1044; Wasail, 20/18, h. 24913; Nur, 3/596.
[25] Tabrisi, 7/220; Thalabi, 7/90.
[26] Razi, 23/368; Amali.T, p. 519; Mustadrak.W, 14/188, h. 16466; Tirmidhi, 2/274, h. 1090 and 1091; Bayhaqi, 7/82.
[27] Kafi, 5/331; Tahdhib, 7/405, h. 7/405, h. 1618; Wasail, 20/45, h. 24993. The same is also reported from the Holy Prophet in Haythami, 4/181; Tabarani, 22/336; Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1981), 1/378, h. 2473; Kanz, 15/896, h. 43541.
[28] Kafi, 5/331; Wasail, 20/45, h. 24992.
[29] Khisal, p. 141, h. 162; Wasail, 20/46, h. 24994.
[30] Tabrisi, 7/220; Faqih, 3/385, h. 4353; Wasail, 20/42, h. 24984. See also Kafi, 5/330; Wasail, 20/42, h. 24983.
[31] Kafi, 5/330; Wasail, 20/43, h. 24987; Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī (Qum: Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, 1983), 3/281; Nur, 3/596.
[32] Kafi, 5/330; Wasail, 20/44, h. 24989; Nur, 3/596.
[33] Related in Ahkam, 3/1379; Qurtubi, 6/184.
[34] Related in Ahkam, 3/1379.
[35] Hebrews 13:4.
[36] 1 Corinthians 7:1-2.