Approaching the West — Page 176
A pproaching the West—176 Whoever of you have the means to support a wife, he should get married, for this is the best means of keeping the looks cast down and guarding the chastity. (Bukh ā r ī ) Furthermore he said, The man who marries perfects half of his faith. (Mishk ā t) The Holy Qur’ ā n encourages marriage of orphan girls and slave girls, and re-marriage of the widows at the earliest (2:222, 2:235-236, 4:4, 4:26, 24:33). In contrast, the Bible has some passages that discourage marriage. For example, priests must not marry divorcees or widows of non-priests (Ezek. 44:22. ) The Lord came unto the prophet Jeremiah and expressly forbade him to marry and have children (Jer. 16:1-2). He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife (1 Cor. 7:32-33). He who marries does the right thing but he who does not marry does better (1 Cor. 7:38); It is better not to marry (Matt. 19:10). According to the Gospel narration, Jesus himself never married and is quoted to say: The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage (Luke 20:34-35). The next Commandment is: Neither shalt thou steal. This commandment is repeated in several places in the Bible, and the punishment for stealing is severe. In the New Testament,