Question 2016: How is it viewed to reject a worthy suitor simply because of a girl's decision to continue her education or similar reasons?
Answer
✅ Answer: Please pay attention to the following hadiths:
1 عن علي بن مهزيار قال كَتَبَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ إِلَى أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ فِي أَمْرِ بَنَاتِهِ وَ أَنَّهُ لَا يَجِدُ أَحَداً مِثْلَهُ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ فَهِمْتُ مَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنْ أَمْرِ بَنَاتِكَ وَ أَنَّكَ لَا تَجِدُ أَحَداً مِثْلَكَ فَلَا تَنْظُرْ فِي ذَلِكَ رَحِمَكَ اللَّهُ فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ إِذَا جَاءَكُمْ مَنْ تَرْضَوْنَ خُلُقَهُ وَ دِينَهُ فَزَوِّجُوهُ إِلَّا تَفْعَلُوهُ تَكُنْ فِتْنَةٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ فَسادٌ كَبِير
📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 347
Ali ibn Asbat wrote a letter to Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him) regarding the matter of his daughters and that he could not find anyone like himself [in status/faith to marry them]. The Imam wrote back to him: 'I understood what you mentioned regarding the matter of your daughters and that you do not find anyone like yourself. May Allah have mercy on you! Do not look at it this way, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) said: If someone comes to you whose religion and character you approve of, then marry [your daughters] to him; if you do not do so, a great trial (fitna) and corruption will arise on the earth!'
2 Narrated by al-Sakuni from Abu Abdillah in a hadith: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) said: 'The right of the child upon the father, if he is a male, is to choose a noble mother for him, give him a good name, teach him the Book of Allah, purify him (circumcision), and teach him swimming. And if the child is female, the right is to choose a noble mother for her, give her a good name, teach her Surah an-Nur and not teach her Surah Yusuf, not house her in upper chambers (balconies/attics), and hasten her sending to her husband's house...'
📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 6, p. 48
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) said: 'The right of the child upon the father, in the case of a boy, is: to choose a good mother for him, give him a good name, teach him the Quran, purify him (through circumcision), and teach him swimming.'
'And if the child is a girl: to choose a good mother for her, give her a good name, teach her Surah an-Nur, not house her in upper chambers (floors above the ground floor), and hasten her departure to her husband's house!'
3 عن أبی عبدالله قال: إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّوَجَلَّ لَمْ یَتْرُکْ شَیْئاً مِمَّا یُحْتَاجُ إِلَیْهِ إِلَّا عَلَّمَهُ نَبِیَّهُ صلی الله علیه و آله فَکَانَ مِنْ تَعْلِیمِهِ إِیَّاهُ أَنَّهُ صَعِدَ الْمِنْبَرَ ذَاتَ یَوْمٍ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ و أَثْنَی عَلَیْهِ ثُمَّ قال أَیُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ جَبْرَئِیلَ أَتَانِی عَنِ اللَّطِیفِ الْخَبِیرِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْأَبْکَارَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الثَّمَرِ عَلَی الشَّجَرِ إِذَا أَدْرَکَ ثَمَرُهُ فَلَمْ یُجْتَنَی أَفْسَدَتْهُ الشَّمْسُ وَ نَثَرَتْهُ الرِّیَاحُ و کَذَلِکَ الْأَبْکَارُ إِذَا أَدْرَکْنَ ما یُدْرِکُ النِّسَاءُ فَلَیْسَ لَهُنَّ دَوَاءٌ إِلَّا الْبُعُولَةُ وَ إِلَّا لَمْ یُؤْمَنْ عَلَیْهِنَّ الْفَسَادُ لِأَنَّهُنَّ بَشَرٌ....
📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 337
Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah Almighty has left nothing of what is needed except that He taught it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny). Among what He taught him was that one day he ascended the pulpit, praised and glorified Allah, and then said: 'O people! Indeed, Gabriel came to me from the All-Gentile, the All-Aware Lord and said: Verily, virgin girls are like fruit on a tree; when the fruit ripens and is not picked, the sun spoils it and the winds scatter it!'
'Similarly, when virgin girls reach the stage of women and maturity, there is no remedy for them except a husband; otherwise, there is no safety for them from corruption, for they are human beings!'
4 Narrated by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Hamdani: I wrote to Abu Ja'far regarding marriage; his letter came in his own handwriting saying: The Messenger of Allah said: 'When someone comes to you whose character and religion you approve of, marry [your ward] to him; otherwise, a great trial and corruption will arise on the earth.'
📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 347
Ibrahim says: I wrote a letter to Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) regarding the marriage of daughters; the Imam's letter came in his own handwriting stating: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) said: When someone comes to you whose character and religion are approved, marry [your daughters] to him; otherwise, a great trial and corruption will arise on the earth!'
✅ According to the above hadiths and others, rejecting a worthy and desirable suitor simply because of matters like a decision to continue education has no narrative (hadith-based) justification.
We observe that, in accordance with the warnings of the Infallibles, the prevalence of these wrong thoughts in our society has caused immense trial and corruption; day by day, the number of single youth who have reached marriageable age increases, and what corruption does not occur!