It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the young emigrants and said: Whoever among you has the ability, let him marry, for it is most effective in lowering the gaze and safeguarding the private parts. And whoever does not have the ability, let him fast, for indeed fasting breaks the desire.

It is narrated from Alqamah, he says: I was walking in Mina with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), when he met Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and they stood and began talking. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: O Abu Abdur Rahman! Should we not marry you to a young girl, perhaps she will refresh your past days for you? Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If you are saying this regarding marriage, then indeed the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed us: O group of young men! Whoever among you has the means to marry, let him marry, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts, and whoever does not have the means, let him fast, for fasting diminishes desire.

Abdur Rahman bin Yazid says: We went to see Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), while Alqamah and Aswad were already sitting with him. He narrated a hadith; I think he narrated this hadith only because of me, as I was the youngest among them. He said: We, the young men, used to stay with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and we had nothing. One day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O group of young men! … Then he mentioned the above hadith.

It is narrated from Saeed bin Jubair, he says: When I met Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), he said: Have you gotten married? I said: No. He said: Get married. Then later when I met him again, he repeated the same thing, saying: Have you gotten married? I said: No. He said: Get married, because the best personality of this Ummah (i.e., Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) had the most wives.

(Second chain) Saeed bin Jubair says: Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said to me: Get married, for the one among us who was the best had the most wives.

Narrated by Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Women and perfume have been made beloved to me from this world, and the coolness of my eyes is in prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man named ‘Akkaf bin Bishr Tamimi came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him:“O ‘Akkaf! Do you have a wife?”He replied:“No.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Not even a slave-girl?”He replied:“No.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Are you not wealthy?”He replied:“Yes, I am wealthy.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Then you are among the brothers of Satan. If you were among the Christians, you would have been a monk. Our Sunnah is marriage. The worst among you are those who are unmarried, and the most despicable among your dead are those who are unmarried. Do you play with Satan? The most effective weapon Satan has to ensnare the righteous is woman, except for married people, for they are safe from this weapon. They are pure from indecent things. O ‘Akkaf! These women were the companions of Ayyub, Dawud, Yusuf, and Karsaf.”Bishr bin Atiyyah asked:“O Messenger of Allah! Who was Karsaf?”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:“He was a man who worshipped on the seashore for three hundred years, fasting by day and standing in prayer by night. Then he fell in love with a woman and committed disbelief in Allah and abandoned worship. Then Allah, due to some of his deeds, made up for his deficiency and accepted his repentance.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“O ‘Akkaf! Woe to you, get married, otherwise you will remain hesitant and confused.”He said:“O Messenger of Allah! Then you arrange my marriage.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“I have married you to Karima bint Kulthum Himyari.”

Narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Four things are the practices of the noble Prophets: applying perfume, marriage, using the miswak, and living life with modesty.