Why do we delay suitable marriages?

Abu Hafsah AbdulMalik Clare once said in regards to marriage, that “when marriage is made difficult, premarital relations become easy.” That statement itself is a testament to the egregious problem that is persisting in modern Muslim families: the excessive emphasis on culture to acquire a perfect, ideal marriage. Young men and women of marriage age are forced to wait (either by their parents or on their own accord) until they find a perfect mate to be married to, based on superficial prerequisites such as wealth, language, ethnicity, family structures, and amount of (western) education. Such ideal marriages are often compliant…