Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Social Aspect

(a) As  a daughter:
The
Qur'En  ended  the  cruel  pre-Islflmic  practice  of  female
infanticidc  rvith  thc  threat:  "And  when  the  girl
fv,ho
wasJ
buried  alive is  asked,
for
v,hat  sin  she  was  killed.'  (e  g
l:g-9)
The
Qur'an  went further  to  rebuke  the unwelcoming  attitude
of  some  parents upon  hearing  the  neu's of  the  birth  of  a  girl
instead  of  a bol':  ",ltrd
y,hen
one o.f  them  is  infornrctl  qf
fthe
birth  oJJ  a
female,
hi.s
face
becotnes  dark,  antl  he suppresse
grie!,  He  hides  himse$.from  Ihe people  hecouse  o.l'  the  itt  o
v'hich  he  has  been  informed.  Should  he  keep  it  in huniliotion  rt
hurv  it  in  the  grttuntl?  {Lnquestionab!.v,  evil  is  w,hat they
decide." (Q  16:58-59)
Parents  are duty-bound to  support and shor+.kindness  and
justice
to their daughters.  Prophet  Muhammad said:  "lf,hoever
has  a daughter  snt{ tloes  not  hur.v  her  alive,  tloes  not  itrsult  her,
and  does  nol
favour
his  son  over  her, ,4llfrh  filf  nrftnil into
Paradise;"  and  "Fl:hoever  supports  nro  claughters  until  the.v
mature,  he and  I  witl cotne  on the  Day a.f  Juilgment  thus  (nn,d
he  pointed  v,ith  his  tv,o
fingers  heltl  rogether).',  (Both  hsdirhs
narrated  by  Ahmadt
,
A  crucial  aspecj  in  the  upbringing  of daughters  that  greatrl
influences  their  future  is educaiion.  Educafion  is  not only a
nght  but  also a  responsibitity  for  all  mares  and  females
Prophet  Muhamma{.  sa!d:  "seeking  knowredge  is  an  obrigation
upon  every  A'{uslim."  (Narrated  by  al-Ba1,haqi  and  Ibn  Majah)
Islf,m  neither  requires  nor encoumges  female  circurncision
.f1{  wnite it  might be  practiced  by  some  Muslims  in  parts  of
Africa, it  is  also  practiced  in  those  praces  by other  peoples
including  christians.  In  fact  female  circumcision
did  not
originate in  Islam  but was practiced  rong before  the rise of
Islam,  Christianiry  and  possrb$  Judaism.rD"



(b)  As a  wife:
Marriage  in  IslEm  is  based  on  mutuar peace-  love  and
compassion,  and  not  the  mere satis$'ing  or  no*ao  sexuai
desire (In  Islam  sexuar  relations  are  onry alrowed  within
ma-rriage).  Among_the_  most  impressive  ,,.ries  in  the
eur,En
about  nlarriage  is  the  following  "And  of  IIis  s?g.n.r  is:  that  He
created
for
you
from
yoarselves
mates that
.vou  mav
find
tranquility  in  them;  and  He  placed  hetv,een
r-oi
affection  and
mercy-  Indeed  in tha_t  are  signsfor a  peopre  rino  gii"  thoughr.,,
(Q  30:21,  see  also  42:ll  and,Z:ZZg)
The  female  has  the  right  to  accept  or  reject  marriage
proposals.  According to  Islf,mic  shaii'ah  (taw).  a  rvoman
cannot  be  forced  to  marry  anyone  without her  consent.
The  husband is  responsible  for  the  maintenance.  protection'
and  overall  leadership
(qnram  ahj  of  the  familv-  within  the
framework  of  consultation
(Q 2:233)  and  kindness  tQ
4:19)'  The
mutuality  and  complementarit-y  of  husband and  wife  does  not
tnean  "subseryience"  by  either  part]'  to  the  otfuer'  Prophet
Muhammad instructed  Muslims  regarding w'omen'.  "I  cotnrnend
you  to be  kind to t+,omen;"  (Narrated  by al-Bukhan  and  Muslim)
|nd
*The
best  of  Vou i.c  the best to  his wife."  (Narrated b1"  at
Termdhi)  The
Qur'f,n
urges  husbands  to be  kind  and  considerate
to  their  wives,  even  if  a  wife  falls  out  of  favour  with  her
husband  or  disinclination  for  her  arises  within  him'. "And  live
with  them  in  kindness. Foruf  yru  dislike  them
-  perhaps
ltou
dislike a thing  and  Allah  makes  therein  much  good'"  (Q 4:19)  It
also  outlaw.d  tlte  pre-Isldmic  Arabian  practice  wherebl'  the
sons of  fhe  deceased  inherited  tfueir  father's  widow(s)  (tfietr
stepmothers)  as  if  they  were  part of his estate.  (see
Q
4:19).
Should marital  disputes  arise,  the  Qur'6n
encourages  couples
to  resolve them  privately  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  probitv.
Under no circurnstances  does  the Qur'fin
encourage-  allow-  or
condone  family  violence or physical abuse.  In  the extreme  case
of  a  rebellious  wife.  and  whenever  greater  harrn.  such  as
divorce, is a likely  option, it  allorvs  for  a husband  to administer
a benign  slap to  his  wife  in  a way that  does  not  touch  the  face,
,our**  oo  physical  harm  to  thc  body  nor  lcalcs  an--Y  sort  of
mark,  making  it  more of  a symbolic  measure  than  a punitive
one.  It  may s€rve,  in  some  cases"  to  bring  to the  wife's attention
the  seriousness  of  her  continued  unreasonable  behavior'  and
may be  resorted  to only after exhausting  other steps  outlined in
the  Qur'6n
in  4:34.  If  that  measure  is  not  likely  to  prevent a
marriige  from  cotlapsing, it  should not be  resorted  to. Prophet



with  the  final  revelation  (i.e.,  the
eur'En)  to  all  of  mankind  as
guidance  for humanity  until the  Day of Judgement.
Prophet  Muhammad  is  the  spokesman for  Allah  by  His
authority.  Muhammad's  duty  wzls  not  only  to  deliver  the
message  which  Allah  revealed  but  also to  explain it  and put  it
into  practice as  an example  to  be followed  by  mankind.
,ihus,
the
Qur'En and the authentic  sunnah (sometimes  referred  to  as
hadeeth) are the  two  main  sources  of  Isldmic  shari'ah  (law).
sunnah refers  to the  words, actions  and  confirmations  qconseni)
of  Prophet Muhammad in  matters pertaining  to  the  meanio!
and  practice  of Isldm.  It  is  based  upon  revelatiln  from Allah.
In  the
Qur'an,  Allah  has  made  obedience to  the
prophet
mandatory  upon  the  believers.  The  teachings  of
prophet
Muhammad,  i.e.,  his sayings  and  traditions  relate-d  and  recoided
by  those  who  actually  witnessed or  heard  them,  have  been
carefully  scrutinised  concerning  the  reliability  of  their
ffansmitters.  only  those are accepted  whose chain  of  narators
is  known to be  completely  reliable  and  sound.
Acceptance of  Prophet Muhammad as the  final  messenger
sent  by Allah  to complete  His religion  upon  the  earth  eliminates
belief  in  atty claim  to
prophethood
after nim.  Thus, a Muslim
completely rejects  the claims of  all  false  prophet*.
.irr.
eur'En
states:  "Muhammad  is  not  the
father
of
fanyJ
one of  your  men,
but
[he
isJ  the Messenger  of Attdh  ana  siit
[i.e.,-lastJ  of  the
prophets.  And ever  is  Alldh,  of ail  things,  Knowing.,,(q33:40)




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