family and islam
...cision which will be implemented as long as her welfare is not at stake. Also the wife’s residence must be adequate “so as to ensure her privacy, comfort, and independence.”(149, Ali) The same conditions apply for clothing, food, and general care. The wife has the right to be clothed, fed and cared for by the husband “in accordance with his means and her style of life…this right is to be exercised without extravagance or miserliness.” (150, Ali) Another component of “maintenance” includes the husband taking care of the wife during sickness. Although there have been many differences of opinion on this issue. Some argue that because the wife is sick and she cannot perform her marital duties, the husband is not obligated to provide her with “maintenance.” The argument here is that the issue of “maintenance” is part of a fully functional marriage, where both parties participate. However, a minority among Shiite jurists considers medical care a means to save life and preserve health. Therefore, it is as essential as food, shelter and clothing are and so it is part of the husband’s responsibility. (153, Ali) “Maintenance” is also required if the husband and wife are facing poverty. Failure to provide for the wife may be involuntary and in this case “it is the opinion of the Hanafi school of thought that his obligations remain, and his wife shall be supported by her relative who would be responsible for her if she were not married.” (159, Ali) Also the financial inability of a husband to not be able to provide for his wife is not a ground for divorce, and even then he shall not be completely free from the obligation. This position is adopted by the “Zahiri” (literal fundamentalist). However, a majority of Muslim jurists agree that a wife has a choice if she wishes to stand by the husband even though he is financially incapable to provide for her or she can separate from him. According to Muhammad Taqay Jafry, some of the rights of husbands over there wives include, obedience, sexual submission, permission to leave the house, not to be vulgar and ill-tempered, working at home, not to bother the husband and not dressing up for anyone but the husband. (175-179) Some of these rights may sound extreme for people of the western world and even for some in the Islamic world, however some of these rules have logical reasoning behind them. Ali, states these rights in a more comprehendible manner then Jafry. He states in the matter of obedience that “obedience is not absolute or unqualified; it applies to matters that fall within the sphere of the permissible categories of action, lie within the range of the husband’s rights, and do not violate the rights of God.” (171, Ali) Ali speaks about sexual submission and that the “wife may not deny herself to her husband, for the Quran speaks of them as a comfort to each other.” (170, Ali) However, there is consideration given if there is a health issue. Also the wife is not allowed to do anything that may compromise her companionship with her husband or which neglects herself. To make sure that they both are satisfied, he may not do anything on his part which may reduce her sexual gratification. Sexual intercourse is only allowed in a marriage union. This rule is not only to protect the people who engage in sexual intercourse outside marriage, but also to protect Islamic society from the consequences of the west’s sexual promiscuous society. Permission to leave the house may sound outrageous to the independent women of the west, however it can also be thought of as a safeguard against rumors of outsiders. If people do engage in gossip, at least the husband would know the whereabouts of his wife and not feel deceived or hurt or have a doubt in his mind about his wife or influenced by shaytan if he does hear the rumors. The last family relationship which will be discussed in this essay is that of children and the parents. Islam recognizes family as a basic social unit. Along with the husband-wife relationship the Parent-child relationship is the most important one. To maintain any social relationship both parties must have some clear-cut Rights as well as obligations. The relationships are reciprocal. Duties of one side are the Rights of the other side. So in Parent-child relationship the Rights of parents are the obligations (duties) of the children and vice versa, the Rights of children are obligations (duties) of parents. Islam clearly defines the rights of parents, which are the duties of children and obligations of parents which are the Rights of children. Hussain states in his article “Firstly, it is a divine injunction that the child is not to be the cause of harm to its parents (Quran 2:23). Secondly, parents should reciprocate and cause the child no harm.” (3) However, parents are not always immune to negligence or the temptations of the west. Issues such as abortion and infanticide have been brought to light and Islam clearly states that infanticide is prohibited. Abortion has been issues since some woman clearly feel that it is there body and it is there choice whether they would like to have children or not. On this matter the Holy Quran says: "Kill not your children for fear of want; it is We who provide sustenance for them as well as for you; for verily killing them is a great sin. (Chapter 17, Verse 31). Basically, Islam considers life as a sacred gift from God Almighty. No one is allowed to take or stop the life of anyone else except by way of justice or according to the Islamic law. Thus, the Holy Quran says: "Say: Come, I will rehearse what God has really prohibited you from: Join nothing as equal with Him; be good to your parents, kill not your children on a plea of poverty; We provide sustenance for you and for them; approach not shameful deeds, whether open or secret; take not life, which God has made sacred, except by a way of justice and law (6:151). Although the child has rights, which are the parents obligations, “the Quran recognizes rather clearly that children are joys of life as well as sources of pride and strength, seeds of vanity and false security, fountains of distress and temptation. So it hastened to point out the greater joys of the spirit and to warn parents not to be deceived by the multiplicity of their children or to go astray on their account.” (9, Hussain) Every parent and child relates to God as an independent person and is individually responsible for their own deeds. Their first priority is to God. According to Ali, a child also has the rights to legitimacy. This “principal of legitimacy” promotes that “every child should have a father and one father only.” This fatherhood, once established, was irrevocable. Ali also states that “a woman who misplaces a child’s legitimacy by relating its descent to someone who is not responsible for its conception has committed a grave offence, alienated herself from God, and will be denied the bliss of eternity.” (190, Ali) The “principal of legitimacy” also extends to the issue of adoption. Adoption is practiced in the western world and the way in which it is practiced a child is lead to believe that his/her adoptive parents are his/her real parents. However in Islam, this is not the case. The Holy Quran states "...Nor has He made your adopted sons your (biological) sons. Such...