Even though the Ihya’ ul-Ulum id-Din states this, how can something perishable be like something eternal in relation to Allah’s love and hatred? Indeed, Allah the Most High says in a noble hadith: ‘I have not hesitated in taking the soul of My servant as much as I have not hesitated in anything else. My servant does not like death. Nor do I like him committing evil. Yet, his death is necessary. ‘His death is necessary’ refers to the decree and will mentioned in the verse: We have decreed death among you. (Vâkıa/60) He who created death and life. (Mülk/2) There is no contradiction between the above-mentioned hadith’s statement ‘Nor do I like him committing evil’ and the 60th verse of Surah Vâkıa.
However, explaining the truth of this matter depends on investigating and declaring the meanings of will, love, and hatred. Because the meanings that reach the minds are in accordance with the people’s will, love, and hatred. But alas, where are the meanings understood by the people, and where are the real meanings of these terms? In this regard, the distance between Allah’s attributes and the people’s attributes is as great as the difference between His all-conquering essence and the creatures. The essence of a human being is matter and form. The essence of Allah, however, is free from both matter and form… A being that is neither matter nor form cannot be suitable for matter and form, nor can its attributes be equal to the attributes of creatures.
These truths belong to the science of ma’rifah. Among the secrets of ma’rifah, there is the hidden decree and secret. Therefore, let us not speak of 13) Buhâri, (Ebu Hüreyre’den)
Kitabu Âdâb’in-Nikâh/L Bölüm
that. Let us suffice with the difference we have mentioned between marrying and not marrying. Indeed, not marrying is the destroyer of the lineage that Allah has continued from Adam to this day, generation after generation. Therefore, a person who avoids marriage has cut off the root of a being (lineage) that extends from Adam to himself and has died childless. If the motive for marriage were only to eliminate lust, then certainly Mu’az ibn Jabal, who was about to die from the plague, would not have said, ‘I do not wish to go to Allah’s presence as a bachelor. Please marry me.’ If you were to ask, ‘Mu’az could not have had children in that condition. Why did he marry?’ I would say, ‘Children are born from sexual relations.’
Sexual relations occur through falling into lust. This is something that is not within human will. Only the quality that incites lust is subject to the person’s choice. The presence of this quality is something expected. Therefore, a person who marries has fulfilled their duty. The rest is not in their hands. For this secret and wisdom, even those who are incapable of sexual relations are recommended to marry. Because the power that brings lust to the forefront is hidden, and humans cannot know its nature. Just as it is recommended for a bald man to run his comb over his head while performing the Hajj to conform to other pilgrims and resemble the pious predecessors, the recommendation for an infertile person to marry is also valid in this regard.
In fact, it is similar to the recommendation of performing izdiba and remel during Hajj in this era. However, the purpose of izdiba and remel during the beginning of Islam was to show the strength of the Companions to the watching non-believers. Thus, conforming and resembling them became a sunnah for all Muslims until the Day of Judgment. However, the recommendation for marriage for someone who is capable of sexual relations is certainly stronger than the recommendation for someone who is not capable. The hardship faced by an infertile person whose rights are lost and who is burdened with guilt is sometimes even greater, as they are not far from danger. This is the reason why the rejection of marriage due to the relaxation of lust is strongly opposed.
II. Vecih Rasûlullah’ın, other nations’ manyness in relation to his ummah to obtain his pleasure and affection. Because the Prophet clearly stated this. Hz. Ömer married many times and said, ‘I only marry to have children,’ and reports of him criticizing infertile women are narrated, which clearly indicate that marriage is for the sake of children. Indeed, the Prophet said about infertile women: ‘A mat in the corner of the house is better than an infertile woman. The most virtuous and charming of your women are those who give birth the most. A black woman who gives birth is better than a beautiful woman who does not give birth.’
This noble hadith indicates that desiring children is more influential in the virtue of marriage than eliminating the calamity of lust. Because although a beautiful woman is more tempting in terms of protecting the eyes from haram, she is not praised. However, the Prophet recommended marrying a woman who is ugly but gives birth.) Ebu Ömer et-Tukanî 15) Beyhakî 16) İbn Hibban
Kitabu’Âdâb’in-Nikâh/I. Bölüm
III. Vecih The third motive is that a righteous child remains behind to pray for him. Indeed, this situation is reported as follows: ‘When the son of Adam dies, all his deeds come to an end, except three… One of them is a righteous child.’ Prayers for the deceased are presented to them on plates made of light. The objection that ‘children often do not become righteous’ cannot negatively affect this motive of marriage. Because after all, that child is a Muslim. Being righteous is a desired quality in the children of the pious. Especially if the parents have given some attention to their religious upbringing and have guided them towards goodness and piety… Prayer is beneficial for the Muslim. Whether the child is righteous or not, the parents benefit from their prayers and good deeds. Because that child is counted as their income. As for their sins, the child alone is responsible, not the parents. Because no one can be responsible for the sins of others. ‘No one can bear the burden of another.’ To indicate this secret and wisdom, Allah the Most High says: We have associated the descendants of Our righteous servants with them. We have not diminished anything from their deeds. (Tûr/21) That is, we have not even diminished a single grain from their deeds. In addition, we have associated their children with their good deeds, thus increasing their good deeds. IV. Vecih The fourth motive is that the child dies before him and becomes an intercessor for him.) Ebu Hudbe, (Enes’ten)
İhya-i Ulûm’id-Din
On the Day of Judgment, (a child who died young) will be pulled by the hand of the parent and taken to Paradise.18
Just as I am holding your robe now, so will the child who died young be held by the parent’s robe on the Day of Judgment and pulled towards Paradise.19
(Liij lb,P ULm ji) k|dL>M Jjû «î>JI t^G ^ Jüj iî^JI J>ıl ü JÛ^ SjJjJl CM
.«l^ji 4»» pjıi ıji>ji jıîj ^j*« Jijıij )i| A^yı j>ji^ J^âj
When it is said to the child who died young, ‘Enter Paradise,’ they stand at the gate of Paradise and shout with an angry voice: ‘I will not enter Paradise without my parents.’ At that time, a voice says: ‘Take them along with their parents to Paradise.’20
^Jı ıpiki ^Jı ıjw J& ini Jjü öd £ Sh y ^ ıJıî c^jJı JuLî
On the Day of Judgment, the children who died young are gathered when the reckoning of the creation is called. At that time, the angels say to them, ‘Take these children to Paradise.’ The children taken to Paradise stand at the gate of Paradise. They are told, ‘Welcome, children of Muslims, enter Paradise without reckoning.’ These children ask, ‘Where are our fathers and mothers?’ The gatekeepers of Paradise say to them, ‘Your fathers and mothers were not like you. They had sins. They are now being reckoned for those sins.’ The narrator says that the children shout from the gate of Paradise (they desire the salvation of their parents). Allah the Most High, who knows their condition better than anyone, says: ‘What is this outcry? O Allah! These are the children of Muslims. They say, ‘We will only enter Paradise with our parents.’ (O angels!) Take them along with their parents and admit them into Paradise.’
If a person has two children who die, a curtain is placed between them and the fire. <ÜI Jj^jÇ :)JÎ> (**y ^»b^» i^Jl üJl
They were walking among the crowds and giving water to some people they selected. However, they passed by most people without giving them any water. I extended my hand to one of them and told him that I was very thirsty and asked him to give me some water to drink. He said to me, ‘There is no child of yours among us. We can only give water to our fathers.’ I asked, ‘Who are you?’ They said, ‘We are the children who died young among the Muslims.’ One of the meanings of this verse is that the children who die young are sent to the Hereafter: You may till your land as you wish. Send good deeds ahead for your souls. (Bakara/224) It is understood from these four motives that the virtue of marriage is mostly due to its being a means of acquiring children.
II. Benefit The second benefit of marriage is to protect from the devil, to break the desire for women, and to prevent the calamities arising from lust, and to protect the eyes from haram and from zina. This is indicated by the hadith of Rasûlullah: A person who marries has protected half of their religion. Therefore, to protect the other half, they should cling to the fear of Allah, which is taqwa. This hadith also indicates the same meaning:
Kitabu Âdâb’in-Nikâh/I. Bölüm
Marriage, those who are not able to marry should fast to break their lust. Because fasting breaks lust. Most of the reports and news we have cited indicate this meaning. This meaning (defeating lust) comes after the first meaning (acquiring children). That is, it occupies the second degree in marriage. Because lust was created for the sake of children. Marriage is sufficient to eliminate lust, to carry the spiritual burden, and to repel the evil of aggression. However, if marriage is done for this purpose, it does not only indicate that it was done to gain the pleasure of Allah. Because the degree of one who obeys the command of Allah for the sake of gaining His pleasure is certainly higher than the degree of one who does it to free themselves from the burden and guilt of trust. Therefore, lust and children are both destined in marriage and there is also a spiritual bond between them.
‘The purpose of marriage is pleasure. Children are the result. Just as the result of Yemen is the def-i hacet… Therefore, it is not permissible to say that acquiring children is not the absolute purpose of marriage.’ Because the purpose of creation and wisdom is children. Lust is a necessary means for humans to obtain them. There is such a pleasure in fulfilling lust that if it were continuous, no pleasure or delight could be measured against it. This pleasure draws attention to the pleasures promised to be given in Paradise. Because it is useless and unnecessary to encourage a pleasure that has never been tasted. Because if an incapable person is encouraged to enjoy love or if a child is encouraged to enjoy the pleasure of power and governance, this encouragement has no value.
One of the benefits of worldly pleasures is to encourage people to worship Allah, as they should continue in Paradise. First look at wisdom, then at mercy, and finally at the divine provision and equipment, which have divided the two lives under the single umbrella of lust. The visible life is the continuation of the person’s lineage and living. Because the continuation of their lineage is a kind of continuation of themselves. The invisible life is the life of the Hereafter. This pleasure, which is quickly exhausted, encourages people to pursue the eternal pleasure of perfection and the worship and service that lead to it. Thus, it makes it easier for them to continue in the worship that leads to the blessings of Paradise, thanks to the strong desire it shows.
Whether in the visible and invisible particles of the human body or in the visible and invisible particles of the heavens and the earth, there are such fine
İhya-i Ulûm’id-Din wisdom and surprises that the minds cannot comprehend, they are left in awe, and they cannot solve them as they are. They are only visible to hearts that are free from all kinds of confusion, in proportion to their purity, and in proportion to their distance from the transitory brilliance of the world, pride, and burdens. Marriage – which is a cause that repels the burden of lust – is a very important religious obligation for everyone who is not deprived of masculinity. This quality is present in most of the people. If lust prevails and is not tempered by the strength of taqwa, it leads people to immorality. Hz. Peygamber, quoting Allah the Most High, indicates this situation as follows: •jeA ->tLij ^j^ ^ If a person is strong enough with taqwa, they can protect their desires from lust, their eyes from haram, and their reproductive organs from zina. However, keeping the heart away from whispers and bad thoughts is beyond the power of that person. On the contrary, the soul constantly pulls them towards sexual matters and the devil often does not leave them. Sometimes, even during prayer, it comes and clings to their throat. Even during prayer, it implants such sexual images in their hearts that if an ordinary person were to openly speak about those events in front of others, they would certainly be ashamed. Allah knows their hearts. The knowledge of the heart by Allah is clearer than the knowledge of the people’s open matters. For the traveler on the path of the Hereafter, the head of the commands is the heart. Fasting cannot remove the whispers from the hearts of most people. Based on this secret, Ibn Abbas said: ‘The worship of the worshippers is only completed with marriage.’ This kind of whisper is a general calamity. Very few people have escaped its grasp. Katade has interpreted the verse in an unacceptable way, interpreting it as being burdened by lust: Our Lord, do not burden us with what is beyond our strength! (Bakara/286) Kitabu Âdâb’in-Nikâh/I. Bölüm Ikrima and Mujahid: ‘Man was created weak’ (Nisâ/28) has been interpreted as ‘cannot endure without a woman.’ Feyyaz b. Nüceyh said: ‘When the reproductive organ is removed, two-thirds of the mind is lost.’ Some scholars have said, ‘One-third of the religion is lost.’ In the Nevadir Tafsir, it is reported that Ibn Abbas interpreted the verse from Surah Felâk, ‘When darkness falls, from the evil of the night,’ as ‘the removal of the reproductive organ and the indulgence in lust.’ Because this situation is an oppressive calamity. When it comes, neither religion nor mind can resist it. However, just as it came before, this lust is also beneficial for obtaining two lives. Lust is the strongest weapon that the devil uses against mankind. Allah’s beloved servant, Hz. Prophet (s.a), indicated that lust is the sharpest and strongest tool in the devil’s hands with this noble hadith: u (O women!) I have not seen anything that has defeated more of the ignorant and those who lack faith among you. The wisdom behind the defeat of the wise by these things is the prevalence of lust. Hz. Prophet said in one of his prayers: ‘O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the evil of my ears, eyes, heart, and lust. O my Lord! I ask You to purify my heart and protect my place of modesty from zina.’ 24) Müslim 25) It was mentioned in the section of prayers.) Beyhâkî