How do I know if I'm ready for Islamic marriage or should wait longer?

Mirabai teaches us that devotion means knowing yourself first—your capacity to love, your wounds, your non-negotiables. In Islamic marriage, readiness isn't just financial or age-based. It's emotional: Can you show up when things are hard? Do you understand your own patterns in love—the ways you withdraw, demand, or flee? Have you examined your heart honestly about what you actually want versus what family or culture expects? A real sign of readiness is when you stop performing readiness and start admitting what you don't know. Islamic tradition values intention (niyyah), and your intention matters more than your timeline. Some people marry at 22 and are ready; others at 35 aren't. The difference is self-awareness. Before you commit, spend time alone with your own grief, your own joy. Notice what you reach for when you're lonely. That's the person showing up to marriage. When you can accept both your own flaws and another person's, when you've stopped treating marriage as rescue—that's closer to ready. The examined heart knows its own capacity.