Verse: "O people, We created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another — indeed the most noble of you before Allah is the most righteous of you." (49:13)
Definition: The husband being compatible with the wife in qualities that affect the continuation of marriage and good cohabitation.
Scholarly views:
- Majority (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali): Compatibility is a condition for contract validity absent consent — includes: religion, freedom, lineage, occupation, wealth.
- Maliki: Compatibility in religion only — lineage and wealth are not considered.
- Dhahiri: No lineage-based compatibility at all — the verse explicitly states that honour is by piety, not lineage.
Strongest view: Sharia-recognised compatibility is in religion and character — from the hadith "If one comes whose religion and character you approve, marry him." (Tirmidhi 1084 — hasan). Lineage and wealth compatibility are considered interests, not absolute conditions.
Question: What compatibility is Sharia-recognised in marriage? What is the strongest view?
Answer: Compatibility in religion and character is the basis — from the hadith about approving religion and character. Lineage and wealth compatibility are interests, not absolute conditions.