text: is it good to remain single in an age of 27 years old? i am a young man, and my religion is islam. eventually, i am bound to respect strict rules about how to deal with the other gender, i mean women. we have in my country the possibility to have your own girlfriend, but for me i think that according to my religion nothing can bring you closer to the other sex than marriage. what do you think ?  thanks jalal:  being single and miserable is better than being married and miserable.  being "closer to the other sex" is not a good reason to marry.  you marry a woman because you love her and want to spend your life with her in a loving, nurturing relationship.      love transcends religion because love supercedes the "do's and don'ts" of religion.  this is because love is a spiritual "element" and is out-going in its expression to your wife, in this case.  love is patient - merciful - kind  - is not jealous - doesn't boast  nor is proud or rude - love doesn't tally up "wrongs" done against us - love sticks around when everything has run away.  strict rules are not love but strict rules !  the ideal is to have people want to do things that are right because he or she wants to ... not because he or she has to !  this is what i think .