My brother shared a true incident with me that he heard from a friend, which I am presenting here as a piece of advice for my sisters. One of my relatives has been living in Paris for quite a long time. He is well-employed, but for some reason, he hadn't been able to settle down and start his own family yet. One day, he came to me and brought up the topic of getting married. He was in search of a suitable match. In Arabic terms, he asked me to help him find a "Bint-al-Halal" (a virtuous and righteous girl). I told him not to worry, as various people whose daughters have reached marriageable age keep mentioning it to me, and I would initiate a conversation whenever I found a suitable match.
Consequently, I initiated a proposal at one place. The girl's father belongs to Morocco and has been living here for a very long time. The children were born here, which is why the French language has become more dominant for them than Arabic. When I spoke to the father and mother, they said they had no objection as the proposal was suitable. The girl was also around 20 to 21 years old. She was intelligent and educated herself, so they said they would consult her and let us know. The matter progressed, and we were strongly confident that the alliance would definitely take place because the families were of equal status.
Eventually, the day came when both parties agreed that the boy and the girl should see each other and have a conversation so that the matter could be finalized. Coincidentally, a railway station was chosen for the meeting. The boy and the girl sat a little distance away to talk. The girl's mother, father, my wife, and I were watching them from afar when suddenly, the girl took out some papers from her purse and placed them in front of the boy. I was very surprised as to what this matter was about. I asked the girl's mother, "What is this?" She replied that, actually, her daughter had prepared a questionnaire to learn about her future husband's private and personal life. In the light of his answers, she would make a decision about making him her life partner.
The questions were in both Arabic and French, but French was used more predominantly. My friend was not very well-versed in that language, so he gestured to me from afar and called me over so that I could help him write the answers to those questions. The questionnaire consisted of three pages. On the first page, there were questions about his personal life, such as name, parentage, address, height, weight, profession, education, business, job, whether the house is owned or rented, how many hours he works, how much salary he draws, etc. These were common questions that my friend had answered himself, but the real questions were on the next two pages.
Among them, the questions were of the nature: To what extent are you connected to Islam and religion? Do you offer all five daily prayers or not? How much time do you spend in the path of Islam? How much of the Holy Quran have you memorized? How many times a month do you recite the Holy Quran? Which book of Hadith have you read, and how many Ahadith do you remember? Write one page about the rights of spouses (Huquq-uz-Zaujain). Which book on the Seerah (prophetic biography) is currently under your study? Have you ever participated in any religious study circle (Dars)? If yes, who was the Islamic scholar, and which book did you study under him?
Aamir Aqqad was saying: I kept reading that girl's questions and kept getting lost in absolute amazement that girls with such deep love for Islam still exist even in this modern environment. There was also a question: Do you desire children? Do you want girls or boys? What will you name the first child born after marriage? What kind of qualities do you like to see in your life partner? What was that questionnaire? In reality, it was a complete exploration of his life and way of thinking. After receiving and reading the answers to these questions, a complete reflection of a person's life undoubtedly becomes entirely visible.
"So, did your friend write the correct answers to all these questions?" I asked. The friend replied, "Why not? He tried to give detailed answers to all of them." "Okay, so did this marriage take place or not?" "No, brother! That alliance could not be finalized. The girl was not satisfied with those answers, and she told her parents: I do not want a husband who is not sincere with his Lord. The one who is not loyal to his Creator, how will he treat me tomorrow?"
And I was thinking that truly, if our sisters obtain information about their future husband's loyalty and connection to their Lord before making a decision about their future, then their upcoming life will surely pass in an immensely happy and blissful manner. (Narrated — Selected from Islamic Tube Pro App)
اناس میمن پلانپوری
