اسلام و پژوهش‌های تربیتی

Choosing a spouse is one important and crucial step in having a successful marriage. An increasing number of marriages end in divorce in the early years of a couple living together indicate that the marriage candidates do not have a good insight into various matters in choosing a spouse. Islam as a universal religion, which promises to ensure man’s happiness, proposes various criteria for choosing a spouse that pave the ground for the establishment of a good family. This article seeks to study the criteria for choosing a spouse from the Islamic point of view. These criteria can be classified under the following general topics: 1. Religiousness and faith 2. Moral values 3. Physical characteristics 4. Family background 5. Economic status 6. Social background Islam lays emphasis on the fact that the marriage partners should be equal in terms of the above-mentioned factors which ensures the stability of marriage; the Arabic term ‘kofw’ signifies the idea of marital equality or equal partners. .However, the attitudinal views of Islam has resulted in giving a special definition for marriage partners’ being “kufw”. Positive attitude to some aspects of ‘equal partnership’ and negative attitude to some other aspects represent Muslim legislators’ efforts in changing the cultural attitude to the idea of equal partnership