It is very unfortunate that we feel extremely handicapped to fulfill the social contract of marriage with responsibility and commitment. Our young couples fail to recognize that marriage is a social contract, which is required to be held sacred with understanding, compromise and commitment. In our society, all we see is a sinful and materialistic start to marital life characterized by non-Islamic traditions and customs. For us, the best marriages are those which are organized by glamour. Unfortunately, we prefer adherence to the non-Islamic traditions over the commandments of Allah when hosting and organizing marriages.
The major problem is that we all expect a marriage to be extravagant and lavish forgetting that there are other more important factors involved that can make it a good marriage. Generally, people forget the fact that these preparations, and vast amount of investment directed into them are merely a onetime showpiece. The matter for consideration is to understand the core purpose of marriage in terms of the roles and responsibilities of two spouses, development of the personality attributes required for marriage, as well as developing a sound discernment of Islamic injunctions pertaining to this institution.
The role of a bride lasts barely for a few hours but the role of a wife is for a life time. There is a dire need in our society to groom the daughters for the role of the wife as well as our sons to become good husbands and islands of protection for the women given to them as a partner with Allah’s blessing. Men and women before being married should be informed about their responsibilities. In addition, the mass awareness about religious rulings related to the importance of simplicity in the marriage rituals over flamboyance should be disseminated. The adherence to these suggestions and measures can bring a massive shift in the society’s trends, and can make marriages simple and successful.
AIYZA JAVAID,
Lahore, February 10.