Marriage is a legal contract that gives both parties the right to sexual pleasure. It has been emphasized by the Holy Quran and the Islamic tradition since it is a means of satisfying one’s needs and urges, forbidding him from committing sins, and maintaining procreation and the continuity of the human race.
The issue has been raised among scholars from a jurisprudential point of view. The majority of Sunni scholars propose that it is more favorable to engage in sexual relations with one’s wife rather than to proceed with the recommended acts of prayer. However, the Shafi’s oppose this view. They regard marriage as a basic instinct. It has been compared in the Holy Quran to the instinct of possessing fortune: "Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire—of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return." Surah Al-Imran (3:14). The Shafi’s have alluded to this verse in their claim explaining that engaging in a sexual intercourse with one’s wife is not favored over recommended acts of prayer, as it is a matter of pursuing and fulfilling instinctual needs. Thus, it is a worldly affair rather than a religious one.
Other scholars claim that recommended marriage, that is the kind of marriage which strives at giving man immunity against sins and committing adultery, is more favorable than recommended acts of prayer.
In other stories, it is mentioned that marriage itself is an act of worship, as it satisfies one’s desires. It has also been mentioned that "sins of a married couple are erased when they are engaged in a sexual act."
One can balance both issues. He can use his time to provide for his family, and fulfill his wife's marital rights. In the case of an unmarried man who wishes to get married, it is more favorable to spend time working and preparing for his marriage rather than engaging in recommended acts of worship.
Marriage is a legal contract that gives both parties the right to sexual pleasure. It has been emphasized by the Holy Quran and the Islamic tradition since it is a means of satisfying one’s needs and urges, forbidding him from committing sins, and maintaining procreation and the continuity of the human race.
The issue has been raised among scholars from a jurisprudential point of view. The majority of Sunni scholars propose that it is more favorable to engage in sexual relations with one’s wife rather than to proceed with the recommended acts of prayer. However, the Shafi’s oppose this view. They regard marriage as a basic instinct. It has been compared in the Holy Quran to the instinct of possessing fortune: "Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire—of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return." Surah Al-Imran (3:14). The Shafi’s have alluded to this verse in their claim explaining that engaging in a sexual intercourse with one’s wife is not favored over recommended acts of prayer, as it is a matter of pursuing and fulfilling instinctual needs. Thus, it is a worldly affair rather than a religious one.
Other scholars claim that recommended marriage, that is the kind of marriage which strives at giving man immunity against sins and committing adultery, is more favorable than recommended acts of prayer.
In other stories, it is mentioned that marriage itself is an act of worship, as it satisfies one’s desires. It has also been mentioned that "sins of a married couple are erased when they are engaged in a sexual act."
One can balance both issues. He can use his time to provide for his family, and fulfill his wife's marital rights. In the case of an unmarried man who wishes to get married, it is more favorable to spend time working and preparing for his marriage rather than engaging in recommended acts of worship.