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What is meant by "whoever is able" in the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) hadith that encourages young people to marry?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have differed on the meaning of "al-ba'ah" in the noble Hadith: "O young people, whoever among you can afford al-ba'ah, let him marry." There are two opinions:

The first: It refers to the ability to bear the expenses and costs of marriage. The second: It refers to the ability to engage in sexual intercourse. There is no contradiction between the two opinions, for the intended meaning is: whoever can engage in sexual intercourse due to his ability to bear the expenses of marriage, let him marry. And whoever cannot, then let him fast, for it will be a shield for him.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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