Most albatrosses live in the cold waters of the southern hemisphere. They spend most of their time hunting and foraging out at sea and are rarely seen on land. When they do gather to breed, they form large colonies on remote islands. South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean around 1,400km east of the Falkland Islands, is one such remote outcrop. The wandering albatross, black-browed albatross, grey-headed albatross and light-mantled sooty albatross all return to breed here.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: He who gives his daughter in marriage to an ungodly man has indeed broken off her connection with her kindred.

the Amsterdam albatross (D. amsterdamensis), which has a wingspread of 280–340cm (9–11ft). The black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris), meanwhile, has a wingspread of about 230cm (7.5ft), while both the black-footed albatross (Diomedea nigripes) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) have a wingspan of around 200cm (6.5ft).

Once a man told Imam Husayn (PBUH) that he had a daughter and asked whom he (PBUH) would advise him to give her to in marriage, and he said: Give her in marriage to someone who (has Faith and) fears Allah, Almighty and Glorious, because he will love and respect her, and if he becomes angry with her, he will not hurt her.

The wandering albatross holds the record for the largest seabird, with a wingspan reaching 3.5m and a body mass of 8–12kg.

To put that in perspective, an adult hippo has a body length of around 3.5m. Other species of albatross are somewhat smaller, although no less majestic. These larger species of albatross include the royal albatross (D. epomophora), with a wingspread of around 315cm – about the same length as a tiger.

Imam al-Jawad (PBUH) wrote in a letter: Whoever solicits you in marriage and you are convinced of his religion and his honesty, then do unite with him in wedlock.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) with no regard to the class of the ones generation, emphasized and said: When someone refers to you for marriage and you approve contently, his manner and his religion, then unite with him in wedlock. If you do not do that, you have caused a grand pest and decadence on the earth.

Taken together, this means albatrosses have one of the lowest reproductive rates of any bird. Albatrosses are very long-lived birds, with some individuals living to over 60 years of age. However as so many are now being killed, many populations are in rapid decline.

Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said: The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) gave Fatimah (PBUH) in marriage to Ali (PBUH) with (the dower of) an armor at the price of thirty Dirhams.

The albatrosses mostly try to eat the bait and get dragged under and drowned. Collisions with trawl net cables are also a significant cause of mortality.

This is having a concerning impact on albatross populations. All species of albatross lay just a single egg at one time, and many species only breed every other year. In addition, most take 10 years to reach maturity before they can successfully breed.

According to estimates, there are only around 5000 breeding pairs left of the Chatham albatross in the world.

Researchers have discovered that trawling and longline fishing boats – where fishing vessels set lines containing thousands of baited hooks – are killing more than 100,000 albatrosses every year.17 Wandering albatrosses, for example, are attracted to the baited hooks set by tuna longliners.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: He who gives as much as a handful of grains or dates as a dowry (with the acceptance of the partner), surely his marriage is lawful and correct.