Spiritual Partners The Sunday Guardian | November 21, 2010 | Page 14

The Quran gives great importance to the institution of marriage. According to the Quran, the home is the first unit of any society, and is the primary source of all kinds of valuable experiences.

In the Quran, there are several verses to this effect, covering different aspects of the institution of marriage. In the chapter entitled Al-Rum (The Romans) the Quran gives basic guidelines in this regard. The translation of one of these verses as follows: “Another of his signs is that He created for you from among yourselves spouses, so that you might find response in them, and he created between you affection and kindness. Truly there are signs in this for people who reflect” (30:21).

In these verses, the Quran reveals an important Law of Nature, that a man and a woman are the counterparts of each other. According to a hadith, men and women are two equal halves of a single unit. A man and a woman as a pair can fulfil the real purpose of human life. Man and woman are born partners to each others. This natural pair has the enormous capacity to develop their personalities in terms of spirituality. Men and women are both like cogwheels. One cog cannot move the wheel of life can be moved only with the joint effort of both. But there is a price to be paid for this. Without paying this price, no pair can move the wheel of life. This price, in a single word, is none other than adjustment. The fact is that in spite of all their similarities, both have been born with differences. Difference is a part of nature. There is no uniformity in the scheme of things in nature.

So, we have no option but to learn the art of difference management.