A Comparative Study of Mate-Selection Criteria in Islamic Thought and Criteria Favoured by Kerman's Youth

The present paper seeks to compare the mate-selection criteria favored by Kerman's youth and the criteria recommended by Islamic thought. To this end, the researcher extracted the criteria of a successful marriage recommended by sacred law from religious sources and recognized the mate-selection criteria adopted by the youth. Then he organized these criteria in a form of a questionnaire which he designed for the unmarried youth ranging from 18 to 35 years old in the province of Kerman to see what their first priorities in mate-selection are. The research findings showed that those who filled in the questionnaire chose from among the six main criteria of Islam's theoretical view only two, as first priorities that is, "chastity and continence" and" wisdom and intelligence". On the contrary, they chose "education level, economic status, and occupation" as first priorities. In other words, they ranked first most of the criteria which, according to religious doctrines, are ranked second and those which, according to religion, are ranked first came next.