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Selection of the spouse plays a vital and fundamental role in the success and prosperity or misery and misfortune of the couple. Therefore, adequate caution has to be taken by the would-be spouses in the selection of their future partner. Meanwhile, the following are among the fundamental and inevitable criteria to be considered while choosing the life partner:
1. Religiousness: One of the fundamental factors to be given serious consideration by a religious person is religiousness of the would-be spouse. A religious and pious person cannot get along with an irreligious spouse and establish a prosperous and blessed married life with them. A pious person may possibly tolerate and bear other shortcomings of the spouse, but can never bear and accommodate the irreverence and recklessness of the spouse regarding his or her beliefs.
2. Morality: Morality is one of the foundations of a prosperous life. Morality means good etiquette and lovely habits and virtues from an intellectual and religious point of view. This is because bad temper of one of the spouses affects the other and the children as well.
3. Nobility of family: Family nobility does not mean fame, wealth, and social status. Rather, it means modesty, purity and religiousness. Marriage means establishing bond with a family, tribe, and a race. It is based on this that the holy Prophet enjoined the Muslims to marry into a decent family, for genealogy has a great effect on the family.
4. Physical and mental health: Physical and spiritual health have important roles in the success and prosperity of the joint life of a couple. Intellect is the medium of distinguishing between wrong and right or good and evil. Spouses must be equipped with the power of mind and reason for the sake of administrating and managing a happy life and bringing up and raising decent children. It is on this basis that the commander of the believers, Imam Ali (as), staunchly and strongly forbade marriage with a foolish or insane person.
5. Being each other’s match: Equity and balance between the two spouses is the most sensitive matter to be considered while choosing a spouse. Equity between the couple means proportion, balance, coordination, concurrence and congeniality between man and woman, and conventionally, the harmony between them to get along well with each other. The main cause of the miseries, turbulence and turmoil in family life is lack of coordination and proportion between man and woman.