Alqamah bin Qais narrates: Once, I and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) were going somewhere in Madinah Munawwarah when we met Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). He took the hand of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). The narrator says: Both of these gentlemen stood up and moved a little to one side. When Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) noticed (after going some distance) that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had no such matter with him that needed to be kept secret, he said:“Alqamah, come forward.”The narrator says: I went to them, and Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying:“O Abdullah! Should we not get you married to a girl so that she may remind you of the days gone by (of your youth)?”The narrator says, so Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“If you say this (then let me tell you), in the blessed time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we were young men. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: ‘Whoever among you has the ability to marry, he should get married, for it is more effective in lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts. And whoever among you does not have the ability to marry, he should fast, for it will diminish his desire.’ (The narrator says: The word used in the text of the narration, ‘wija’, means to diminish desire.) (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) In this narration, marriage has been commanded, and the reason for it is the ability to marry, and its cause is lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts. While the second command is: when this reason is not present, then fasting should be observed, and that reason is the inability to marry, and its other cause is to diminish desire.

Saeed bin Musayyib narrates: Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) informed him that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Maz'un (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to remain celibate, so the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from this. Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had permitted him, we would have had ourselves castrated.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to command marriage and strictly forbid remaining single. He used to say: Marry loving and fertile women, for I will boast of your numbers before the Prophets on the Day of Resurrection.

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: (The command of Allah Almighty is) "This is more appropriate so that you do not commit 'aul'." The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says that what is meant by this is: Do not commit injustice.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): There are three people for whom it is incumbent upon Allah to help them: the mujahid who strives in the way of Allah, the person who marries seeking chastity, and the mukatab slave who intends to pay off (his contract).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "The whole world is a provision, and the best provision of the world is a righteous wife."

Ismail bin Muhammad, narrating from his father, reports from his grandfather (Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Four things are signs of good fortune: a righteous wife, a spacious house, a good neighbor, and a good mount. And four things are signs of misfortune: a bad neighbor, a bad wife, a cramped house, and a bad mount.”

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah narrates: I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) say: "If there is misfortune in anything, it would be in a house, a horse, or a wife." (The narrator says) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) meant misfortune.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best among them (wives) is the one whose dowry is the least."

Sayyiduna Abu Barzah Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Julaibib was an Ansari who used to go to women and talk with them. Sayyiduna Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said to my wife, "Julaibib should not come to you." The narrator states: It was the practice of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when any of their women became widowed or divorced, they would not marry her off until they knew whether the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wished to marry her or not. One day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to an Ansari: "O so-and-so, marry off your daughter." He replied: "Yes! With pleasure." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I do not wish to marry her myself." The Ansari asked: "Then to whom should I marry her?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To Julaibib." He replied: "O Messenger of Allah (please allow me) so that I may consult the girl's mother." Then the man went to the woman and informed her that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had sent a marriage proposal for their daughter. The woman said: "Alright, with pleasure." The man said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not send the proposal for himself." The woman asked: "Then for whom did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) send the proposal?" The man replied: "For Julaibib." The woman said: "For that unworthy Julaibib?" Then the woman said: "No, by Allah! I will not marry (my daughter) to Julaibib." When the girl's father got up to go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the girl said from behind the curtain to her mother: "Who has sent the marriage proposal for me?" Both of them replied: "The Messenger of Allah." The girl asked: "Will you not act upon the command of the Messenger of Allah? Hand me over to the Messenger of Allah, he will not let me go to waste." Then the girl's father presented himself before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "The matter of this girl is in your hands." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married the girl to Julaibib. The narrator named Hammad says: The narrator named Ishaq bin Abdullah stated: "Do you know what supplication the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made for this girl?" The narrator asked: "What supplication did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) make for her?" Ishaq replied: "(The Prophet made this supplication:) 'O Allah! Pour goodness upon both of them abundantly and do not let any hardship come in their life.'" Here, the narrator named Thabit has narrated these words: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married the girl to that man. Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out to participate in a battle and asked: "Do you find anyone absent?" They replied: "No." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "But I find Julaibib absent. So search for him among the slain." They found Julaibib in such a state that he was among seven polytheists; he had killed those seven polytheists and then was martyred himself. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did he kill seven men and then was martyred himself? He is from me and I am from him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this seven times. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted him up with his own arms; his only bier was the arms of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself placed him in his grave. The narrator named Thabit states: There was no widow among the Ansar who was more generous in spending (i.e., wealthier) than her (the wife of Julaibib).