Among the many authors in the Arab world, there are some whose writings are a pleasure to read. One such name is Sheikh Abu Fatah Abu Ghuddah (may Allah have mercy on him). He was one of the distinguished students of Sheikh Zahid Al-Kawthari (may Allah have mercy on him). I became acquainted with him in my fifth year, during the time I was studying Hidaya. I came across his book "Husn al-Taqadi fi Sirat al-Imam Yusuf al-Qadi," and since then, I have been enamored with his books. Yesterday, after Isha prayer, when I went to the library, I happened to read his book "Al-Ulama al-Uzzab Alladhina Atharu al-Ilm Ala al-Zawaj" (The Unmarried Scholars Who Preferred Knowledge Over Marriage). It is a book of one hundred and fifty pages about scholars who prioritized knowledge over marriage. I thought of sharing some excerpts from it with the esteemed readers.
In Islam, marriage is strongly encouraged and emphasized. It is also a natural matter that has been instilled in human nature. Man is inclined towards it due to the demands of his nature. It is an important part of the basic necessities of human life, which becomes a means of self-completion, procreation, human survival, and the inhabitation of the universe.
The Sharia has particularly emphasized marriage for the person who is at risk of sin and fornication. Some jurists have considered it among the acts of worship because it establishes the continuity of a righteous generation, which learns Islam from its ancestors and then passes it on to its descendants, until Allah Almighty inherits the earth and those who live on it. Furthermore, marriage has very good effects on a person's morals and character, and it becomes a cause of chastity, completion of religion, peace of mind, and mental well-being. Because when the power of lust awakens in a person, it scatters his thoughts and vision, makes his eyes and heart restless, and sometimes leads him astray and throws him into the pit of humiliation and destruction.
(1) Hafiz Murtaza Zubaydi (may Allah have mercy on him) has quoted in his book "Taj al-Arus" (Volume 265, Material: Na'z) from the Tabi'i elder, worshiper, and ascetic, Abu Muslim Khawlani Shami (may Allah have mercy on him) (who was called "Hakim al-Ummah") that he said: "O people of Khawlan! Marry off your women and unmarried people, because 'na'z' (i.e., intense desire for marriage) is a great and severe matter, so prepare for it, and know that whoever is overcome by this condition, his opinion is no longer valid."
Therefore, marriage, along with its legitimate pleasure, is a basic necessity of human life, which is not easy to give up, unless a strong and dominant passion overcomes a person, or there is such a deep attachment to a very dear and precious thing that it dominates the heart even more than marriage—such as the pursuit of knowledge for some scholars, jihad for some mujahideen, or the achievement of high goals for those with high aspirations.
It is easy to understand that abstaining from marriage and living a life of celibacy is a very difficult test for a scholar. It lacks spiritual intimacy and peace of mind, and one has to bear the hardships of eating, drinking, cleanliness, and household chores oneself. Also, there is deprivation of a woman's care and affection in times of illness, old age, and weakness.
All these hardships and difficulties can only be endured by the person who understands that enduring them is easier for him than being deprived of acquiring knowledge and increasing it. Therefore, he prefers what he considers more beneficial and great over what is more pleasurable and comfortable for him—as is the case with these unmarried scholars, some of whose circumstances will be described later, and they are counted among the great pillars of knowledge.
Before describing their circumstances, it is appropriate to consider the question of why these great imams adopted celibacy despite being well aware of the virtues of marriage and its rulings? Although there is no authentic evidence in the Sharia that encourages celibacy. Then what was the reason that they abstained from marriage, while they were not unaware of its virtues, but rather the jurists themselves have described its encouragement in their books?
The answer—and Allah knows best—is that it was a personal and individual course of action that they adopted based on their insight. They compared the benefit of marriage with the benefit of knowledge, and the benefit of knowledge became more dominant in their view, so they preferred one desired thing over another. But they never invited anyone to this course of action, nor did they say that celibacy for the sake of knowledge is better than marriage, nor did they claim that their method is better than others.
Nor did they adopt the theory of some wise men and philosophers that having children is an injustice to them. As Ibn Khalkan mentioned in "Wafayat al-A'yan" (Volume 1, Page 34) in the translation of Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri (Ahmad bin Abdullah) that he had instructed that this poem be written on his grave:
"This is what my father did to me, and I have not wronged anyone."
This poem relates to the belief of philosophers that bringing children into the world is an injustice to them because they are subject to calamities and afflictions.
These scholars had nothing to do with this. They chose to abandon marriage merely as a personal choice, and Allah Almighty protected them from the harms of celibacy through piety, faith, and knowledge. What took them away from a natural thing like marriage was the growing passion for knowledge, which attracted their hearts to such an extent that they became so engrossed in acquiring, collecting, spreading, and compiling knowledge that knowledge became like the soul for them, like water for a green branch, and like air for human life.
They could not bear separation from it, nor could they be satisfied with any slight reduction in its acquisition. Thus, knowledge became both food and medicine for them.
They considered marriage, despite all its merits and virtues, a major preoccupation and obstacle in achieving this great goal, which prevented them from complete immersion and passion with knowledge. Therefore, they generally preferred a greater and general benefit over their personal selfish benefit, with the ijtihad that this method is more beneficial for them and a better means of attaining the pleasure of Allah Almighty.