Marriage is a core concept in the Middle East and definitely something that affects many of our decisions. It has, however, been, on many occasions, more about practicality or stability rather than an expression of eternal love and devotion. With a recent case, dubbed by a few cheeky critics as “divorce at first sight”, we see marriage become more about vain desires.
A Saudi couple residing in Medinah decided to get married without the groom actually seeing the bride before the ceremony. That in itself is quite a questionably peculiar decision.
When the photographer asked the couple to pose for photos and the bride unveiled her face, according to Gulf News, the groom was struck by her looks – not the good kind of struck, more like appalled – and exclaimed in horror, “You are not the girl I want to marry. You are not the one I had imagined. I am sorry, but I divorce you.”
Let us take a moment to process the fact that this was the first couple to reportedly ever get divorced during their wedding ceremony. Let us also take a moment to comprehend the atrocity of the whole situation. Are looks the only drive behind two people walking down the aisle?
Moreover, let us also try to digest the fact that arranged marriages seem to have reached new, ridiculous heights. How could they not actually see each other before deciding to get hitched?
Marriage has traditionally been known as a commitment made between two people who truly love and appreciate each other’s presence in each other’s lives and we all seem to have forgotten that. The whole concept of arranged marriages has walked all over the meaning of love, turning the marriage institution into one about stability, or worse, an institute for religiously accepted, sinless lust.
Sure, they are only one couple and there are many examples of man and wife who have said wedding vows that were based on true love and devotion, but we all need to be zapped back to reality. We all need to realize that the voids in our lives, whether they are emotional or financial, will not be filled with just any random marriage.
A lavish wedding ceremony will not magically solve all of our problems. A wealthy husband, whom you barely know, will not transform your life into a fairy tale and an attractive wife will not necessarily make you any happier.
Marriage should not be driven by what we want and desire, but rather by what we’re willing to happily give to another person, simply because they constantly put genuine smiles on our faces just by existing and being a part of our lives.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss #هتجوز_عشان: Six Actual Reasons Why You Should Get Married.