The Ruling on Tawakkul in Marriage When One Is Unable to Afford the Costs

Question:
May Allah reward you. We begin this session with this question from our brother listener, Muhammad al-Shaqari, from al-Far'ah in al-Wushm. He says: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And there is the story of the Companion who did not find an iron ring and was not able to afford the costs of marriage, yet the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) married him. How do we reconcile these two things? Should I place my trust in Allah and proceed with marriage, taking this story and His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) as my basis, or should I hold back and wait for an unknown time until I am able to afford the costs of marriage?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. As for marriage, especially the right of young men and women, it is highly encouraged due to the benefits that follow from it. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the same hadith: If a person is able to bear the costs of marriage, he should proceed and not delay. Likewise, if a suitable man who is pleasing to her in his religion, character, and trustworthiness proposes to a girl, she should seize the opportunity and not delay, neither for studies nor for a job nor for anything else, because a righteous husband is her opportunity in life.
As for the case where he is unable to pay because he is poor, he waits for what is in his abundance, unless the woman he has proposed to consents to him. If she knows his situation and is content with him and his poverty, there is no harm. This is like the woman who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offering herself to him; she was content with this man who had found nothing, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was content to teach her what he had memorized of the Qur'an, and this would be the mahr. Just as dirhams can be a mahr, so can benefits. This is like Musa (peace be upon him) who married on the condition of tending sheep, , meaning years, , so Musa (peace be upon him) married and made the mahr that he would tend the sheep for eight years or ten years. If the woman is content with that, there is no harm. Yes.