Question
How sound is this hadith that urges people to get married, and is attributed to our noble Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him and his family and companions)? In fact I did not find it in the reliable books of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama ‘ah about the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). It was narrated from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “There is nothing that is built in Islam that is dearer to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, than marriage.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah.
We did not find any basis for this hadith in the books of Ahl as-Sunnah; rather it is mentioned by the Shi‘ah in their books, and is quoted by their followers on websites and in chat rooms. See:
Wasaa’il ash- Shi‘ah (20/14); Mustadrak al-Wasaa’il (14/152); Bihaar al-Anwaar (10/222).
A hadith that is narrated only by the Shi‘ah and is not narrated by Ahl as-Sunnah, is not a hadith.
Marriage is part of the way of the Messengers, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) urged young people to get married when he said: “O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get married, because that is more effective in guarding one’s chastity and lowering one’s gaze. Whoever cannot afford it, let him fast, for that will be a shield for him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5066) and Muslim (1400).
It was narrated from Anas that a group of the companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) asked the wives of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about what he did in private. One of them said: I will not marry women. Another said: I will not eat meat. Another said: I will not sleep in a bed. He (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) praised and extolled Allah, then he said: “What is the matter with people who say such and such? I pray and I sleep, I fast and I break the fast, and I marry women. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5063) and Muslim (1401).
What is proven about the virtue of marriage in the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah is sufficient, and we have no need of reports that are narrated only by the Shi‘ah and have no basis according to Ahl as-Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.