Islam Question and Answer - Is it possible to be pious without being married?

Thu 13/7/1434 - 23/5/2013

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Fiqh of the family

Is it possible to be pious without being married?

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Hello. I recently visited your website. I appreciate your strive to enlighten people seeking information on Islam. I am also grateful for the opportunity to contact you.
If you would be so kind, I would like to ask you a question about Islam. I have heard that Islam says that if one does not marry, one cannot get into heaven. Is this true? If so, what is the basis? I would suppose that the reasons would be the propagation of humankind and to avoid promiscuity. The former of these seems to be common to other religions, but I am curious about the latter. Cannot one be both pious and unmarried?
I would greatly appreciate any information you have and/or links that you know that address this topic.

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not essential to be married in order to enter Paradise, but if a person fears that he may do something forbidden, then he has to get married. If he does not get married in this case, then he is making a mistake.

With regard to your second point, it is possible for a person to be pious without being married, but this is rare. Usually no one forgoes getting married except one who is either impotent or promiscuous, as ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to a man who had not got married: “Nothing is keeping you from getting married except either impotence or immorality.”

In any case, Islam urges people to get married and considers marriage to be one of the ways of the Messengers; it is forbidden to forego getting married even if the intention is to devote oneself to worship. “There is no monasticism in Islam.”

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid