Here is the English abstract of Mohammad Javad Sadeqimajd (Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith, Imam Sadiq University, Iran)'s presentation at the 14^nd pre-con meeting of the conference “Imam Reza (PBUH) and Interreligious Dialogue" which was held in Persian Gulf University Bushehr, Iran on  December 26, 2023.

Criteria for Choosing a Good Wife; a Study Based on the Quran and Hadith

The family as an institution is among the fundamental pillars of maintaining a healthy society. Concerning theological strategies for family preservation, the Islamic faith provides various effective recommendations. One of the most crucial religious recommendations is the careful selection of a suitable spouse to strengthen the foundation of the family and ensure dignified progeny. These recommendations are generally derived from the Quran and Hadiths. In explicit Quranic statements, the legislative will of the Divine emphasizes the bond between the virtuous and the avoidance of the wicked as a fundamental strategy in forming a family. The Quran eloquently expresses that if one of the spouses who are bad do not incline towards goodness, the goodness of his/her partner will not benefit them, and they will have different positons. In the realm of Hadiths, the matter of marriage is elaborated with more details and specifics, emphasizing the importance and intensity of mutual affection between spouses and its relation the faith. Criteria for selecting a suitable spouse, showing tolerance in marital life, and mutual care between spouses have been outlined. It is noteworthy that the religious criteria for selecting wives pertain to the spiritual, intellectual, skills, moral and psychological aspects of individuals, as well as their physical attributes. Although most of these hadiths are about selecting suitable wives, the criteria for choosing suitable husbands have not been overlooked.

Translator: Mahdi Qasemi