|
 |
Related Articles:
|
|
|
|
|
Resources » Articles » Beliefs
Society, Family and Polygamy
Written by Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias
Society
1. Prayer: Muslims are urged to pray regularly, collectively and in the Masjid (mosque). This makes the Muslim sociable. Furthermore, the following directives from Muhammad (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) explain the importance of social harmony.
a. "Your Iman (faith) is not complete until you desire for others what you desire for yourself.
b. "Smiling to your brother is an act of charity".
c. "A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim, he does not wrong him nor lets him down".
d. "Allaah will help you if you help other brethren".
e. "You are not a believer if you harm your neighbour".
2. Obedience to Parents: Parents are so high in the social structure that even if they are non-Muslims, they are to be accorded respect and mercy. They are to be obeyed in every command AS LONG AS IT DOES NOT CONTRADICT THE LAWS OF ALLAAH. The reward for looking after the aged is so great that old age homes are not heard of in an Islaamic society. How ironical that when they are young, active and busy they are surrounded by their families, but no sooner do they reach the age when social company becomes as precious as a breath of air, they are discarded into loneliness. Islaam abhors this treatment of parents and teaches tolerance and patience as the treatment for the irritations of the older members of society, just as they had tolerated the irritations of infancy.
Family
By protecting each member of the family, Islaam safeguards the family unit. This in turn makes the society safe, secure and stable.
The child develops emotionally, socially, mentally and physically within the family unit. Divorce is highly disapproved from all the legal acts. Islaam does not approve of the intermingling of sexes and indecent dress which reveals parts of the body and leads to illicit relationships and permissiveness. Islaam classifies the role of the wife as a mother and not a female for commercial enterprise. Islaam liberated the female from slavery, while the commercial world has plunged her into becoming a slave of materialism and for the satisfaction of the whims and fancies of the passionate and lustful. The modern world has turned her into a commercial commodity and still demands her dedication in her role as a mother.
In all western environments the equation is: males+females+alcohol+drugs+dancing+female nudity illegitimate offspring+divorce+homeless children+AIDS.
The Islaamic equation for a well balanced society is: no intermingling of sexes+no drugs+no alcohol+no female nakedness = stable marriages+legitimate offspring+healthy society. Islaam employs the above measures to generate the true father and true mother without whom the psychological health of a child is in jeopardy.
Polygamy
Islaam allows the man to have 2,3 or 4 wives, at the same time provided thathe treats them equally and justly. This is not a command but a privilege not likened to raw lust and loose morals. In a monogamous system, adultery and fornication have become a way of life. In the Islaamic system each wife has a right to have her separate home and not to be dominated by the others.
Polygamy is not a problem in Islaam but a solution to the following problems.
1. When the wife is old and ill and cannot satisfy the husbands physical and sexual needs.
2. When the wife is sterile.
3. When there are so many women that abuse of them by men can result.
In all 3 of the above instances a husband is saved from taking prostitutes and women of loose morals thereby preventing the spread of venereal diseases. The women on the other hand are also protected in that they are legally entitled to be cared for and do not suffer from low self esteem and inferiority which is almost always the result in the case of a mistress or prostitute.
Islaam predicted more than 1400 years ago that there will be more women than men. Science, today, acknowledges that more female children are being born. Thus the imposition of monogamy would mean that a man can have many mistresses who he can use and discard as he pleases. Through polygamy, Islaam has solved this problem and the man can marry another with the corresponding responsibility of looking after her within his means.
|
|
