Importance of marriage in Islam

"And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may dwell with them in serenity and tranquility. And He has put love and compassion between your hearts. Truly in that are signs for those who reflect." (Quran 30:21)

Marriage came into existence with the formation of the first man and woman: Adam and Eve. All the Prophets since then were sent as models for their regions, and every Prophet, from the first to the last, supported the institution of marriage as the divinely-approved example of heterosexual relationship. Even today, it is still believed more appropriate that couples introduce each other as: "my wife" or "my husband" rather than: "my lover" or "my partner". For it is through marriage that men and woman legally fulfill their desires, their instincts for love, relationship, intimacy etc.

The Prophet Muhammad in his own lifetime made clear his feelings that marriage could be an hurdle to drawing closer to God. Once, a man vowed to the Prophet that he would never marry. The Prophet responded by sternly stating that:
"By Allah! I am the most God-fearing amongst you! Yet... I marry! Whoever turns away from my sunnah (inspired way) is not from me (i.e. not a true believer)."

In reality, far from considering marriage as bad for one's faith, Muslims believe marriage to be an important part of their religious devotion. As mentioned before, the Prophet Muhammad clearly stated that marriage is half of the Religion (of Islam). In other words, perhaps half of all Islamic virtues, such as chastity, charity, kindness, tolerance, gentleness, patience, love, compassion, caring, learning, teaching, reliability, courage, mercy, forbearance, forgiveness, etc., find their revelation through married life.