Books that speak about the rulings on marriage, women, and ways of making the marriage successful

Praise
be to Allah

The Islamic texts encourage marriage and state that it is the
way of the Prophets and Messengers. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And indeed
We sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him)), and made for them wives and offspring”

[ar-Ra‘d 13:38]

“And marry
those among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and the woman who
has no husband) and (also marry) the Salihoon (pious, fit and capable ones)
of your (male) slaves and maid-servants (female slaves). If they be poor,
Allah will enrich them out of His Bounty. And Allah is All-Sufficent for His
creatures’ needs, All-Knowing (about the state of the people)”

[an-Noor 24:32]. 

As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

“If they” that is, married people or those who want to
get married “be poor,
Allah will enrich them out of His Bounty”.
So you should not let what you imagine – that if he gets married, he will
become poor because of having too many dependents – prevent you from getting
married. 

This offers encouragement to get married, and is a divine
promise to the one who gets married that he will become independent of means
after having been poor. {
And Allah is All-Sufficent for His creatures’ needs
} that is, He is very kind and bestows much bounty

“All-Knowing” – He knows who deserves His grace and
bounty in both religious and worldly terms, or in one of them, and who does
not deserve that. So He gives to all in accordance with His knowledge and
wisdom.

End quote. 

Tayseer al-Kareem ar-Rahmaan
(p. 567) 

For more information, please see fatwas no.
136885 and 220841, which
discuss the virtues of marriage.

With regard to books that speak of the virtues of marriage,
the rulings thereon and ways of making marriage successful, there are many
such books, including the following:

Tuhfat al-‘Aroos
by Mahmoud Mahdi al-Islambooli. This is a very useful book in which the
author speaks of proposals and the rulings thereon, the essential parts and
conditions of the marriage contract, the rights and duties of both spouses,
and rulings on intimacy.

[Translator’s note: This book is available in English under
the title: The Bride’s Boon]

Az-Zawaaj fi Zill al-Islam
by Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ‘Abd al-Khaaliq, in which the author discusses the
rulings on marriage in Islam, how to choose a life partner, rulings and
conditions of the marriage proposal, impediments and outcomes of the
marriage contract , ways to guarantee family stability, and ways of dealing
with disputes between the spouses; then he speaks of the end of the
marriage, either through death or separation during life by means of talaaq,
khula‘ or annulment of the marriage.

Az-Zawaaj al-Islami as-Sa‘eed
by Mahmoud al-Masri Abu ‘Ammaar

[Translator’s note: other books available in English include
the following:

A Gift for a Muslim Bride
by Muhammad Haneef Abdul Majeed

Secrets to a Successful Marriage
by Afshan Khan

Traversing the Highs and Lows of Muslim Marriage
by Sadaf Farooq]

With regard to books that speak about rulings having to do
with Muslim women, there are also many such books. By way of example we may
mention Jaami‘ Ahkaam an-Nisa’ by Shaykh Mustafa al-‘Adawi and
Fataawa al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, compiled by Ashfraf ‘Abd al-Maqsood

And Allah knows best.