When we compare the number of youths who get married every year to those who refrain from doing so, we find the number of the latter to be much larger. The factors that prevent both young men and women from getting married can be classified in material, family and social terms.
Some young men may delay the decision to marry because they believe that marriage is commitment and will greatly curb their personal freedom. They thus prefer to live as long as possible without commitments and family obligations. Not marrying for this reason is wrong and unjustified because successful marriage will result in a stable life.
The material or financial factor may be a cause for not marrying because some families demand a lot of money as a dowry for their daughters. Some families even go further and demand a large quantity of gold and jewelry for the bride and this puts a great burden on the shoulders of the would-be bridegroom. The cost of renting wedding halls and the wedding parties themselves are unnecessarily expensive, adding to the bridegroom’s burdens. These, however, could be reduced by choosing reasonably priced halls, cutting down the number of guests and by being moderate in the quantity of food and sweets ordered.
The family itself may be responsible for delaying the marriages of their sons and daughters by imposing illogical and complicated conditions and requests. Some families request the men who want to marry their daughters to have high positions, to receive large salaries and to own houses and cars.
This might not be possible for a large number of young men, so the only option for them is to refrain from or delay marriage. The solution here is to go back to the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh), which calls for not turning down marriage proposals from “religious and good mannered people.” Some bridegrooms also request that their would-be brides should have jobs and a salaries.
This condition will leave very little chance for unemployed girls to marry and will thus increase the number of single women in our society.
If we do not make strenuous efforts to facilitate marriages by giving up some of unreasonable conditions and cutting down expenses, then we will have a large number of unmarried men and women. This, in turn, may well result in many social ills.
