Using marriage as a gateway to escape a current challenging situation often leads people to leap into a relationship without due diligence. It’s also unrealistic to expect your spouse to ”save you”; after all, they are just as flawed as the next person.” — Smart Single Muslimah, Farhat Amin
I decided to read this book on a whim, after witnessing marital disasters I was completely pessimistic about the prospect of marriage. I couldn’t see the attraction to marriage or a close relationship that so many people my age worship. The whole “wouldn’t it be nice to share my life with someone, a companion, my own, personal fajr alarm.” — as Farhat Amin puts — didn’t appeal to me. So, after seeing multiple reviews of Farhat’s book (and it being on sale) I decided to give it a read, perhaps I’d warm up and be optimistic towards marriage.
I’d read excerpts of other (older) marriage books, and it all seemed the same, off-putting with a sprinkle of misogyny, but this book wasn’t like that, it was more a self development guide pre-marriage. Farhat used an endearing but straightforward tone, as an aunt would, the topics were very much based on questions the Muslim youth have regarding marriage e.g., when’s the best time, race, questions to ask, why you need to get married etc.
The reality is the demographic of youth today has changed from that of thirty years ago, many women work, go to university, find people themselves etc and are we prepared to answer different questions? And not just answering them based on the predisposed secular mindset but from the Islamic worldview. That’s what Farhat aims to do with this book, or at least what I gauged as the reader.
I appreciated the addition of personal anecdotes from sisters who shared their struggles, putting the complexity of the present matter in perspective. The emphasis on self reflection and development within this book stood out, rightly so, unfortunately in our individualistic society it’s brushed under the carpet. As sister Farhat says “The best way to find an honest, god-fearing person is to become an honest, god-fearing person”. Naturally (and unfortunately), we have assimilated into liberal society and adopted the culture and attitudes, which is not for the benefit of women or even men but possibly capitalist governments. In Islam, marriage is the gateway to children and intimacy, and a fulfilment of the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ; therefore, it is a pillar in a functioning Islamic society, whereas adultery and relationships pre-marriage pose a threat to the family unit. Typically, in the west marriage is redundant, partnerships serve the same purpose, less costly, less traditional and doesn’t hold the same cultural (and misogynistic) baggage as marriage. Truthfully, this is not isolated to the west, recently Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, said:
“I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?”
— Malala Yousafzai, Vogue, July 2021
There was outrage across the global Muslim community, but also those who agreed with Malala. It’s apparent that recognising these core differences and Allah’s commandments is imperative to understanding the importance of marriage in Islam.
This book is not a book on fiqh, but its main addressees are unmarried sisters and parents. It’s refreshing to read Farhat’s no nonsense writing based on Islamic teachings and morals, she also included a useful list of questions to ask potentials. There is currently a warring dichotomy (in the Muslim online sphere) between extreme feminism and the extreme alt-right and both are leaving the average Muslim confused on important life decisions, from an unbalanced perspective. I’d highly recommend this book for sisters in the same situation I was, I thought I was the only one confused, experiencing two separate realities — seeing unhappy married couples or the unmarried Twitter akhs and bints romanticising every moment of the day. Yes I’m a cynic and admittedly I still have my reservations, but this was a step forward alhamdulillah.