Before You Tie the Knot: A Guide for Couples

Marriage is a natural developmental stage for most adults but the process of getting married and achieving a successful, long-lasting marriage can be fraught with challenges for Muslims in North America. The authors present a unique approach that reflects 40 years of combined experience in counseling couples. Mohamed Hag Magid is a prominent imam at one of the largest mosques in the US, and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri is a licensed mental health professional. The two provide an Islamic framework for the entire marriage process and present marriage as a partnership while underscoring the ingredients for successfully finding a spouse, as well as for establishing and maintaining a healthy marriage.This book is invaluable for anyone seeking marriage, as well as for parents who are involved in their children's marriage process. Those getting re-married after a divorce or death of a spouse will also find this book extremely useful. The authors raise thought-provoking questions to help readers increase self-awareness, clarify what is desired in a spouse and in a marriage, and help them get to know a potential spouse. Topics addressed in detail include finding a spouse, the role of family and in-laws, the marriage contract and wedding, intimacy, spirituality and finances. Special issues addressed include mental health, domestic violence and threats to a marriage. This marriage guide is surprisingly comprehensive and practical. It provides a tool kit with concrete skills that can be used throughout a marriage to ensure a healthy relationship that is grounded in the Islamic values of love and mercy-qualities that are necessary to achieve the ultimate purpose of marriage: mutual tranquility. This book promises to be a valuable resource that couples will turn to for many years both as a refresher and as a reference.


About the Author
Imam Mohamed Hag Magid currently serves as the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He is the Imam of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Sterling, Virginia. Imam Magid has co-authored Reflections on the Qur'an and written a chapter in Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities. Salma Elkadi Abugideiri is a licensed professional counselor. She is also a founding board member of Peaceful Families Project, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence in Muslim communities. She has authored several publications addressing domestic violence, relationship and mental health issues in Muslim communities.