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Fatwa CenterThe level of marriage compared to other good deeds
Question
Salam sir..I wanted to ask a question.. I wanted to know the level of marriage.. In Qur'an its written "Amongst you those are the best who marry" i mean i know its a good thing i want to know how good is it ? for example is we say jihad is on 1st level and haj on 2nd and praying 5 times is on 3rd then on what level will marriage come on ? and please dont reply with a answer "its good thing" i want to know its level..where dose it stand comparatively against other things like haj or jihad .. especially for a guy who dose not like to get married but is still willing to do it for Allah Thanks a lot .. may allah bless you
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His Slave and Messenger.
We do not know of any textual evidence that clarifies the level of marriage in comparison to other deeds. In addition, the scholars clarified that the scale of goodness for some features of Islam, as mentioned in some Ahaadeeth, differs according to people and circumstances. Ibn Hajar 
said in his commentary of the Hadeeth narrated by Ibn Mas’ood 
which reads “ …what deeds are most beloved to Allaah?…”: "The scholars concluded about this Hadeeth and other Ahaadeeth that the best action differs with the different circumstances of those asking. The Prophet told each person what they needed most, or what they had most desire to do, or what was more suitable for them. The different answers may have also depended on the time difference, that is, that a deed done at that particular time was better than at another time. For instance, Jihaad was the best deed at the beginning of Islam, as it was a means to establish Islam and in turn establish other deeds. Also, there were many religious texts that prayer is better than an act of charity; however, when helping a person who is in dire need of help, charity is better…”
There is no doubt that marriage is something good and it has many benefits for a Muslim's worldly and religious life, so one should not at all be unwilling to marry, as that would be unwillingness to perform a Sunnah of the Messengers. For more benefit on the virtues of marriage, please refer to Fatwa 91412. Besides, the legal status of marriage differs depending on the circumstances of the person, as we have already clarified in Fatwa 84026. There we explained that marriage may be an obligation and a Muslim must not abstain from it; otherwise he will be sinful.
Finally, it should be pointed out that there is no verse in the Quran which indicates the meaning that you mentioned in the question - "amongst you those are the best who marry". A Muslim should be careful not to ascribe something to Allaah that He has not said. Allaah says (what means): {And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allaah a lie or denies His verses? Indeed, the wrongdoers will not succeed.} [Qruan 6:21]
We have no doubt that you are not one of those to whom this verse applies, but we just want to draw your attention regarding what you mentioned.
Allaah Knows best.
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