“…and He has set between you love and mercy. Surely there are Signs in this for those who reflect.”
(Al Qur’ān – 30:21)
The word mawaddah (love) used in the ayah denotes sexual love, which is the primary factor that makes a male and a female gravitate towards one another and keeps them bonded together. As for the word rahmah (mercy), it refers to that spiritual relationship which gradually develops among them in the course of their matrimonial life. This is a relationship of cordial mutuality thanks to which the spouses become each other’s true well-wishers and sincere co-sharers of each other’s joy and sorrow.
Love and mercy are thus the two positive forces which the Creator has ingrained in men and women. As a result, they are drawn to each other. In time, these two forces lead to the establishment of a permanent companionship between a couple. Although each of the two might have been brought up in a totally different milieu, they spend their lives in intimacy, rowing together their common boat on the turbulent waters of life.
This love and mercy, which have been experienced by humans, are not material objects that can be subjected to weight and measure. Nor can their sources be traced to any of the chemical constituents of which the human body is composed, nor can any laboratory determine how love and compassion come into existence and grow. The only explanation for their existence and growth is that they were judiciously instilled in human nature by the All-Wise Creator for some specific purpose.