MARRIAGE SECTION · 2 – Encouragement to Marry Religious Women
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Women are married for four qualities: their wealth, their lineage, their beauty, and their religious devotion. Seek the one who is religiously devoted, and your hands will be filled [with blessing].” [79]
**Explanation:**
The expression "teribet yedaka" (may your hands be filled) is used among Arabs both in praise and blame, but not always in supplication. Here, it is meant as encouragement: Choose her, and your hands will be filled with blessing.
This honorable hadith indicates that religious devotion is foremost among the conditions of compatibility in marriage.
Hanafi: A Qurayshi is compatible with another Qurayshi.
Shafi’i: Muslims are considered compatible with one another on the condition of freedom.
Maliki also holds the same opinion. Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Sufyan al-Thawri said: Compatibility lies in religion and lineage. (Mealim al-Sunan, vol. 3, p. 4)