Fatwa No. 27

Question:

Is a young woman obligated to choose a wealthy man for marriage?

Answer:

Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn. To proceed:

The Prophetic guidance (hadī al-nubuwwah) in the selection of a husband is that it be on the basis of religion and character — as the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

“If there comes to you one with whose religion and character you are pleased, then give him in marriage. If you do not do so, there will be tribulation (fitnah) on earth and widespread corruption.” (1)

Material prosperity (al-yasār al-māddī) then comes in the rank that follows religion and character.

And Allah Most High knows best.

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Footnotes (Takhrīj):

(1) Recorded by al-Tirmidhī in Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, chapter “If There Comes to You One with Whose Religion You Are Pleased, Then Give Him in Marriage,” ḥadīth no. 1084; and by Ibn Mājah in Kitāb al-Nikāḥ, chapter “Compatibility (al-Akfāʾ),” ḥadīth no. 1967 — on the authority of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Albānī cited it in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, no. 270.