Mouood Mouood English Edition
“And one of His signs is that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest in them, and He put between you love and compassion…” (30:21)
This verse makes clear the harmony that exists between Divine Legislation in the natural order of creation and human nature. Now we should see what laws and regulations should be framed in relation to the demands and requirements of the family institution.
The vital significance of the family society can be understood through meditation on the Quranic verses, which significance has been testified and confirmed by researchers and sociologists.
The family comprising these two main elements, namely man and woman, calls for their mutual cooperation and provides for their needs. In reality, both of them together form one body, enabling the tree of humanity to grow and eventually bear fruit. So, it is through cooperation that the couple can nurture and educate the seed of their fruits.
No doubt, • man’s natural role in the process of reproduction differs from that of the woman. His is instantaneous while hers is time-consuming and painful. A woman cherishes this fruit inside her body for several months, nurturing it with the juice of her life and after child-birth, she embraces it as she would her own life and soul, suckles it and instinctively, sacrifices rest, comfort and peace for it.
Really, would not we be oppressing the woman, if apart from the heavy duties that womanhood entails, we do impose the arduous, exhausting duties of the man upon her? Does the natural order call the woman to leave her child in nurseries and go struggling for a living? What will the woman do with her breasts full of milk? How should she tolerate being separated from her child since her motherly love and affection can bring insanity to her if such a painful separation does occur? Should not the man be the one to financially support the family to compensate the woman for the heavy ordeal of pregnancy, child-birth, suckling, nurturing and the other duties that come with motherhood?
Should the man think selfishly of satisfying his sexual desires and forget all about the woman’s heavy burden and duties? Can it correctly be affirmed that the woman’s sexual promiscuity thereby killing all her motherly feelings, benefit her since by so indulging, she frees herself from natural and innate bonds? Can it be claimed that when we deny the child motherly affection, a divinely bestowed gift, making of the family a cold and lifeless unit (as so often is the case with western countries, especially America), is a fundamental step towards reforming society and securing women’s rights? Can such actions which go against the natural order benefit society?
Answers to these questions can easily he found if one looks at the ever-increasing social miseries, sufferings and the mind-blowing statistics on suicide, murder, theft, and so on in the western world and at the pains of the apparently so-called civilized world as a result of its being deprived of the comfort, mental peace and happiness of family life.
As a famous orientalist says: “The pleasure that a Muslim derives from kissing his child is not imaginable to many westerners, because in the civilized world of today, few men are positive that their• children are really their own.” He adds: “I do not think that the westerners can bear to see the easterners enjoying this privilege. Perhaps they will take it away from them soon.”
Those who are under the illusion of the industrialized world of the westerners, and allow themselves to be subject to their poisonous propaganda, still imagine the west to be like paradise, that anything western is worthy of commendation and imitation. These people, upon realizing their wrong conceptions, will regret painfully. But this painful realization, however, comes to them too late, i.e. when the person or the family has already been ruined through continuous deviations.
As a matter of fact, many western scientists and writers are beginning to realize the harm done by such misconceptions of life and values and are now directing efforts at solving this dilemma. Unfortunately, western societies, in corruption and immorality, have already reached a state of no return.
As states an• American writer: “To remove these problems, it is necessary to reform and strengthen the family life and once more, put into practice the useful principles and rules which once governed the happiness of the family members and nations and which have been lost now. Women should obey and respect their husbands while the latter should love their wives and observe their respective rights.”
An English woman writes: “I wish our country were like the Muslim countries, where an atmosphere of chastity and purity has embraced even the bondswomen. Really, why isn’t such an atmosphere encouraged in our society where women, as per their nature, would engage in house-keeping, leaving outdoor jobs to men, whereby safeguarding their own honour?
Here we recommend those who upon witnessing the western cabarets and other centres of corruption, argue that scientists and inventors like Pasteur, Edison and Einstein are products of such centres of corruption to at least take a glance at the unprejudiced investigations and writings of some western researchers, scientists, writers and publications. By so doing, they might recognize the value of Islamic teachings and not give away the divinely bestowed, invaluable gift that is Islam.
Now, having shown that the social rules should be so formulated as to be in accordance with human nature, it• becomes clear that child-rearing and house-keeping are duties which should go to the woman. On the other hand, those duties which accord with man’s natural constitution, such as the duty of supporting the family should be reserved to him. Thus, the family unit which guarantees the survival of the human race and nurtures competent, pious individuals will serve its purpose in the best way.
When we regard the duties of both sexes, we see that the greater share of man in property inheritance is quite just and moreover, in reality, the woman does share this property with him. In this connection, can it be said that Islam violates the woman’s rights? We leave it to the just to answer this question.
We should further not neglect to mention that man has not been merely created for material and sexual pursuits. Rather, the sexual instinct is one among many endowed in human nature for the attainment of certain goals, though one should not neglect one’s sexual instinct for satisfying other instincts by going to extremes.
Nor is it proper to undermine all humane virtues and supreme goals of creation so as to satisfy the sexual instinct. Today, many are the sexual perverts, who in their vain attempt to satisfy their sadistic sexual desires, supposedly fight for the emancipation and freedom of the woman. Their only aim is to satisfy their sexual desires while watching the exposed bodies and painted faces of the women and indulge in illegitimate, anti-human sexual relations with them.
But Islam which looks at all matters from all possible angles and recognizes only the truth, distinguishing between good and evil, strictly prohibits unchastity and sexual exploitation of women, regarding this to be detrimental to humane virtues and the family.
Islam commands the woman to cover herself from head to toe once she leaves her house and outside the family environment (according to many Islamic jurisprudents, the covering of the face and hands up to the wrists is not necessary). This is so to prevent men other than her husband, or close relatives with whom marriage is prohibited, such as brothers, uncles and so on from seeing her physique. The woman outside the family environment must also not use make-up so as to attract the men and engage in coquetry in any way. As says the Holy Quran:
“And let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms and not display their ornaments.” (24:31)
“Then be not soft in (your) speech, lest be in whose heart is a disease yearn,” (33:32)
