The referred narrative should be seen as the Prophet's advice regarding an additional quality to look for in one's prospective spouse. Beauty, wealth and family background are the three things which people generally look for in a woman to marry. In the referred narrative, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have advised the Muslims to also look for godliness and piety in one's prospective spouse. If you consider your questions in the light of the foregoing explanation, you should be able to find their answers quite easily. You have asked: ... does this mean that it is the only or the overriding criterion to be employed while deciding for a wife. The referred narrative does not imply that a person should only look for the fourth criterion and ignore the first three. On the contrary, the narrative actually implies that while searching for a life-partner, where a person naturally looks for a beautiful, well to do and a noble family background, he should also not ignore the woman's affiliation with and adherence to the directives and values of Islam. You write: In other words, what if a man comes across a truly religious woman but is not physically attracted towards her or does not find her to fit his criterion of 'beauty'. Should then he decide against marrying her merely on the grounds of lacking beauty or is it better to ignore this aspect. The decision in all such cases would rest with the individual. The particular point of balance or 'equilibrium' in matching all the criteria in one's mind would vary from individual to individual. Nevertheless, there is obviously no basis of marrying a woman or a man, if one does not feel attracted towards her/him. After all, marriage is a commitment to live with another person for the rest of one's life. Piety and Godliness, therefore, should indeed be one of the criteria in marriage, but not the only criterion. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad June 17, 2002 Answer published by Moiz Amjad