Islamic Family Life

Islam and the Family System Islam is the Final religion and has the most ideal shari `ah (revealed law). An unbiased observer cannot help admiring the equilibrium which it has achieved balancing the demands of body and spirit, providing guidance concerning life in this world as well as teachings concerning life in the hereafter. It is the Leading Light which brightly illuminates every turning in the highway of human life. It is the Perfect shari `ah which did not leave any human need uncared for. In so far as family-life goes, we see that Islam has unravelled every problem of the family system with such dexterity that one has to accept that it could not be solved in a better way. One cannot but register astonishment at the attitude adopted by some Christians writers. They seem to be suffering from an inferiority complex when they compare the Islamic shari `ah with their religion which has no shari `ah at all. Therefore, they try to imply that, that perfection of shari `ah is a “drawback” or that the moral standard of Islamic teachings is not as high as that of Christianity. Contents Publisher's Foreword i The Family 1 Importance of a Family Code 1 Islam and the Family System 2 Family Pillars 2 Joint Family and Separate Family Systems 3 Joint Family System: its Advantages and Disadvantages 4 Separate Family System: its Advantages and Disadvantages 5 The Wise System of Islamic Society 5 Dependants 6 Seclusion of Women 7 Parents and Children 10 Why so much Emphasis on the Rights of Parents? 11 Rights of Children 12 Name 12 Three Stages of Life 13 Instruction for the Three Stages 15 First Stage 15 Second Stage 17 Third Stage 19 Rights of Parents 20 The Similarity Between the Financial Rights of Almighty Allah and Parents 22 According to the Right of Love 24 According to the Right of Obedience 25 First Similarity 26 Second Similarity 27 Third Similarity 28 Superiority of Mother's Rights 28 A Warning 29 The Qur'an and the Gospels 29 Marital Affairs 33 Mutual Rights of Husband and Wife 33 Natural Spheres of Activities of Man and Woman 34 Benefits of Marriage 34 Islamic Boundary Line 37 The Rights of the Husband 40 Man and Woman: Physical Differences 41 A Woman's Place is at Home 43 Husband: Metaphorical Lord 48 Obedience Based on Love 49 Domestic Management 50 Procreation 51 Love and Good Grace 54 Right of Maintenance 55 Forbearance 56 Misunderstandings and Conflicts 57 When the Wife is at fault 58 When the Husband is at fault 59 When both are at fault 59 Separation 60 Talaq, Khul`, Mubarat 62 Conditions of Divorce 64 Divorce: The most disliked permission 64 Rights of Other Relatives 65 The Evils of Severing Relationship 69 Divine Law in Practice: 71 Circle of Ar-rahm 72 Ways of Silat ar-rahm 74 Summary 76 A Reminder 76 Rights of Neighbours 77