 The best marriage, the best example to learn from is the marriage of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah al-Zahra, may be the most successful marriage of all time. Look at how simple it began. Imam Ali, peace be upon him, he's a single man. Ma'ad Ibn Jabal and Umar ibn al-Khattab, these two companions, they come to Imam Ali, they tell him, ya Ali, why don't you propose your cousin Fatimah? Go and marry Fatimah al-Zahra, peace be upon him. Imam Ali is a poor man, he doesn't have a house, he doesn't have anything. So he's shy to go and propose and he doesn't even have a place for her. So he's hesitant, they encourage him, encourage him until he goes and proposes to Fatimah al-Zahra. He asks, Rasulullah, I want to marry Fatimah. Now Rasulullah, the hadith says he goes to Fatimah al-Zahra, and he tells her, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib has come and he has asked your hand, he wants to marry you. Now the hadith says Fatimah did not ask any question. How much does he make? What does he work? Where does he live? What's his house? She knew this is Ali Ibn Abi Talib. This is the leader, the commander of the mu'mineen of the faithful, and this is enough. This is all a person needs in order for them to be, to live a happy life. The hadith says she just stayed quiet. She didn't say yes, because she was shy to say yes, and the Holy Prophet, he was happy, he said, Sukutuhah, Iqraruhah. The fact that she stayed quiet here means she's okay, Rasulullah accepted. And look at the dowry of Imam Ali, al-Mahar. He goes, he asks Imam Ali, what do you have to give as a dowry to Fatimah? Imam Ali says, I have three things. I have my shield, I have my sword, and my camel. That's all I have. You choose whatever you want. The Holy Prophet says you need your camel and sword, but you could sell your shield. He goes and he sells his shield for 500 dirhams, and he gives it to Rasulullah. 500 dirhams, brothers and sisters, is equivalent anywhere from 500 to $1,000, today's currency. This is the dowry of Sayyidah to Nisa Al-Alami, 500 to 1,000. That's all. And she was happy, she was content about that. That's all that Imam Ali, al-Salam, gave. And you find some marriages today. I've seen some marriages. For a few weeks, there's negotiations between the man and the woman, usually the families on how much. The family of the girl keep on going up, up, up. And the family of the man keep on trying to, you know, getting a discount. It's as if they're selling. It's as if it's a transaction. It's as if it's a business deal. That's how they value their daughter. It's just based on money. I attended one wedding, Akkad, and the mahar, Subhanallah, the just the dowry of the girl was $1 million, $1 million US dollars. And I heard a few months after that, I heard there was problems and they got a divorce. And, you know, there was tension when I was there because the family of the of the man didn't like that. But the family of the woman had put that as a, you know, as a condition. You won't get our daughter until you give $100 million, $1 million, as if they're selling her. But what these people don't understand is Fatima, alaihi salam, who's our role model, her mahar was just 500 dirhams. Let's say $1,000. Is my daughter better than Fatima? Why should I expect my daughter to have a mahar that's higher than Fatima? If I'm a girl, am I better than Fatima or Fatima is better than me? Of course Fatima is better. If Fatima accepted such a low mahar, shouldn't I follow in her footsteps? Who do we follow? Who's our role model? This is the important question we have to ask ourselves. Erfatima, alaihi salam, is our role model. And the hadith of Rasulullah says, The best woman of my nation are those that ask the least of the dowries. So anyway, he gives his shield as a mahar. And then he asks him, do you have a house? He says, no, I have no where. So Rasulullah, there was a wealthy man from the Ansar. His name was Al-Haritha. His name was Al-Haritha Ibn An-Nu'man. Rasulullah, he knew him. He had some extra houses. So he asked him if Imam Ali could borrow, either rent or borrow your house for the first few months or years until he's able to prepare his own house. He gives him the house. Imam Ali, alaihi salam, lives with Fatima alaihi salam. And they had the most humble of furniture. All they owned in that house was a blanket made of sheepskin, a few pillows, a mattress, and a few utensils for the kitchen like hand mill, jugs and some other stuff. This is all that Fatima alaihi salam. Sayyidah Tunisa al-Alami, the greatest woman of all time. This is all that her house contained. But did she ever whine? Did she ever complain? Never. Fatima was happy because she knew that these stuff did not matter. They will not bring happiness, only short-term happiness. She's the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib. What an honor it is to be the wife of Ali. And what an honor it is to be the husband of Fatima. Both ways. The hadith says that some women of Quraish during the time of Fatima, they came and they began to insult Fatima. They would tell her, look at what your father did to you. He let you marry Ali, such a poor man. He's not rich. He's not wealthy. And those back then, the Arabs, they were all about money. You would value someone based on his money. So they would make fun of Fatima and insult her because she married Imam Ali alaihi salam. But yet you find Imam Ali and Fatima, they led the best life, the most successful life. Rasulullah came to Fatima and he told her, ya Fatima, do not care about what these women tell you. Your husband is Ali ibn Abi Talib. He is the best creation of Allah after me. And then he begins to speak about the virtues of Ali ibn Abi Talib. And that's why you see they led the most successful marriage. And this hadith from Imam Ali alaihi salam shows you, it summarizes how beautiful their marriage was. The hadith of Imam Ali, he says after Fatima alaihi salam died, he says, he says, he says, he says, I never angered Fatima throughout the years that I lived with her. I never angered her. I never forced her to do anything. This is on one side. And on the other side, he says, and on the other hand, she never angered me, nor did she ever disrespect me or she disobeyed me. It was mutual respect. And then he says, I would look at Fatima alaihi salam if I had any stress, if I had any agony. He says, I would forget all my stress. He says, I would forget all my agony. As soon as I see Fatima, I forget all my problems. Wallahi brothers and sisters, spend millions of dollars on your wedding. You could never buy that feeling. That when you look at your spouse, you feel that content. You feel that happiness. And it says, if all your stress has gone away, all your problems have disappeared. This can only be bought through iman and taqwa, through faith and through manners. The hadith says that after they got married, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he grabbed the hand of Fatima and he placed it in the hand of Imam Ali. And he told Imam Ali, Ya Ali, haathihi wadi'aati. He told her, this is my wadi'aati, this is my trust. Take care of my trust, Ya Ali. He took the Imam, he took the Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa aalih by the hand of Fatima and placed it in the hand of Ali and said to him, Ya Ali, haathihi wadi'aati, haathihi wadi'aati. So, remember it, Ya Ali. Then he took the hand of Ali and placed it in the hand of Fatima and he said, ya Fatima, this is your wife, so remember it. Rasulullah took the hand of Fatima and placed it in the hand of Ali and he told him, Ya Ali, take care of my daughter Fatima. She is my trust in your hands. Do not let anyone bother Fatima Do not let anyone disrespect Fatima. Do not let anyone do anything that upsets or angers Fatima