Is nikah fard, wajib or sunnah? The rulings explained by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Rahimahullah)

Is nikah the same ruling for everyone?

No. In the section on the jurisprudential ruling of nikah (p. 67), the book explains that the ruling depends on two things: whether a person feels a real need, and whether he has the means. Based on those two, it lists several different situations rather than a single answer for all.

What are the different rulings of nikah?

As summarised on page 67:

• Wajib. When the need is felt and he can earn enough to feed a household, nikah is wajib, and leaving it is sinful.
• Fard. When the need is very strong and there is a real fear that he will fall into something haram without marriage, nikah becomes fard.
• Sunnah. When the need is not pressing but he is able to fulfil a wife’s rights, nikah is sunnah.
• Forbidden. When he fears he will not be able to fulfil a wife’s rights, whether the rights of her person or her financial rights, marrying is forbidden for him.

The book adds that where neither need nor means is present, scholars have differed. Its advice there is practical: work, earn or arrange a loan, intend firmly to repay, and try your best.

Can someone borrow money in order to marry?

On pages 67–68 the book says that a person who takes a loan for nikah in order to protect his religion can hope that Allah will help him settle it. It draws a clear line, though: borrowing is not for show or extras. It is only for basic maintenance and for a mahr that must be paid promptly. See how mahr works in Islam for the other side of this.

What should a man without means do?

On page 68 the book tells of a poor man who came with strong desire and no means to marry. He was told the hadith about fasting for one who cannot marry. He had fasted, he said, yet his desire had not decreased. Maulana Thanvi’s explanation is that fasting in that hadith is a remedy, and a remedy works through steady, repeated use, not one try.

The practical lesson for families: a young person who cannot yet afford nikah needs patience, self-restraint and real help, not only criticism.

Is staying unmarried a form of worship?

On page 64 the book is firm: it calls it an innovation in religion to treat staying single as a way of getting closer to Allah. It cites the hadith that whoever turns away from marriage despite the need is not from us, and explains that this is a practice borrowed from other communities. The real act that the Shariah commands is nikah, so abandoning it cannot itself be worship.

Are there valid excuses, and what about marrying late?

Page 66 gathers hadiths about excuses. In one, a man’s excuse is the real fear that his religion will be harmed. In another, a woman’s excuse is that she cannot hope to fulfil a husband’s rights, or a widow fears that remarriage will ruin her children.

Pages 62–64 add accounts of elderly men who married late, one at about ninety and one aged a hundred, often because they needed a wife’s care in illness. The book’s point is that marriage in old age is not strange, and that a devoted wife’s comfort is a real blessing.

How can families use this today?

Start by asking the honest question: is this son or daughter ready, in need and able? Do not delay a marriage out of habit when the need and means are both there, and do not push one when the person cannot yet fulfil the rights that come with it. If you are ready, wali-supported matchmaking can help families search together, and you can get the Android app. Families in Pakistan can read about the halal rishta app in Pakistan.

For related teachings from the same book, see the purpose of nikah and widow remarriage.

Frequently asked questions

Is nikah fard for every Muslim? Not in every case. According to Maulana Thanvi it is fard only when need is very strong and there is a fear of falling into haram, and it can even be forbidden when a man fears he cannot fulfil a wife’s rights.

Can I take a loan to marry? The book permits it for protecting one’s religion, limited to basic maintenance and a mahr that is paid at once, not for extras.

Where can I read this? In Islami Shadi by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (Rahimahullah), Bab 1, pp. 62–68.