Dought & clear - Commentary on thehadeeth, “A woman may be married for four things…”.

I have read your Article on ( Rulings on Marriage ) I particularly
did not understand the following phrase. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: (Womenmay be married for
fourthings: wealth, beauty, lineage or religious commitment)
Does this mean the woman has to be wealthy, beautiful, comefrom a good
ancestral family and be religiouslycommitted? The final one on
religious commitment is very clearto me and I too firmly believe in
it; but the others arent. Please clarify. .
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari (4802) and Muslim (1466) from
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) from the Prophet(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said: "A woman may be married
for four things: her wealth, her lineage, her beauty and her
religiouscommitment. Seek the one who is religiously-committed, may
your hands be rubbed with dust (i.e., may you prosper)."
There is nothing in this hadeeth to suggest that it is enjoined or
encouraged to marry a woman for her beauty, lineage or wealth. Rather
what it means is that these are things that people look for in
marriage. Some look for a wife who is beautiful, some look for a wife
who is descended from anoble family, some look for a wealthy wife, and
some look for a wife who is religiously-committed – and this lastis
what the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged
when he said: "Seek the one who is religiously-committed,may your
hands be rubbed with dust (i.e., may you prosper)."
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said inSharh Muslim:
The correct view concerning the meaningof this hadeeth is that the
Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke of what
people usually do, for they seek these four characteristics, the last
of which in their view is religious commitment, but you who are
seekingto follow the right way should seek the one whois religiously
committed. This is not a command todo so… This hadeeth encourages us
to seek the company of religiously-committed people in all things,
because the one who keeps company with them will benefit from their
good attitude and good ways, and will be safe from any bad influence
from them.
Al-Mubaarakfoori said inTuhfat al-Ahwadhi:
Al-Qaadi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:It is the people's custom
to seek certain characteristics in womenand to choose a wife for a
certain quality. It befitsthose who are religiously-committed tobase
their actions on religious guidance, especially with regard tomatters
that are serious and have lasting effects.
The scholars differed greatly as to the meaning of the words, "May
your hands be rubbed with dust." Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said inSharh Saheeh Muslim:
The most correct view is that of the muhaqqiqeen, that this is a
phrase which originally 'May you become poor', but the Arabs
customarily used itin a sense other than its original meaning, so they
would say things such as, 'May your hands be rubbed in the dust,' 'May
Allaah kill him, howbrave he is!', 'May he have no mother,' 'May you
have no father,' 'May his mother be bereft of him,' 'Woe to his
mother,' and so on which they would say in the context of denouncing,
rebuking, criticizing, expressing outrage encouraging an action, or
expressing admiration, and so on.
And Allaah knows best.