Islamic marital jurisprudence
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- This is a sub-article to Islamic jurisprudence and Marriage.
Marriage in Islam is considered to be of the utmost importance. There are numerous hadiths lauding the importance of marriage and family.
In Islam, marriage is a legal bond and social contract between a man and a woman as prompted by the Shari'a. There are two types of marriages mentioned in the Qur'an, the Nikah in verse 4:4 and the Nikah Mut'ah in verse 4:24.
Image:Muslim wedding in India.jpg
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[edit] Gender roles
In Islamic theology, both sexes are considered roughly equal in value and recognizes the differences between the sexes, resulting in different rights, obligations, and distinct roles. A woman may propose marriage to a man directly or through an intermediary. Marriage is a social obligation and is registered by the Kazi who performs the short ceremony. When a couple are to be married, a man must pay mahr (dowry) to his bride. Since divorce is allowed in Islam, the amount promised or paid to the bride forms part of her personal property and is of assistance to her in times of financial need, such as a divorce or desertion by the husband. While the Mahr is usually in the form of cash, it may also be a house or viable business that is put in her name and can be run and owned entirely by her if she so chooses.
Women are expected to be home-makers and caregivers to their children, and it is considered a good thing if they are educated as well. Islam supports the traditional division of labour whereby women assume the main responsibility for home while men are responsible for supporting their wives: motherhood and homemaking, like a Muslim's inner life, are not considered to be less important or rewarding than a professional career. Indeed, motherhood is seen as one of the most important professions. Muslim wives and mothers should be granted the respect due to all women for the struggles and sacrifices they make for the sake of their families. In Islam, Muslim women may seek a higher education, work outside the home or volunteer their services to benefit the community as long as their primary responsibilities are taken care of and they do not compromise their faith in doing so (i.e. jobs that require them to dress in a fashion that is contrary to the Sharia). The decision to work is solely the wives' and any income that a woman earns is her own, to spend as she likes. A hadith narrated in Bukhari states that a man who can afford to marry, should. This establishes that a man remains solely responsible for maintaining his family and must share his earnings with his wife and children.
In extremely conservative societies, women are often barred from education by the male members of their families. However, Prophet Muhammad said: "Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every Muslim". Barring women from obtaining an education is not only against their prerogative but hinders their obligation of educating their children.
Men are to be caring husbands and respect their wives' honor and modesty. They must feed, clothe, and house their wives in the same manner they do themselves. The husband can not force his wife to work, cook, or nurse their children against her will. If she invokes her righ to do so then he must look elsewhere to accommodate for these needs. He is responsible for satisfying his wife sexually and not divulging their secrets to others. The husband may marry more than one wife if they treat all wives equally and inform their previous wives of their intention, their permission however is not required. Essentially, the men are to maintain order on the surface while the women are to do so on the inside. Both parties have responsibilities and rights that are to be met for a successful and happy marriage.
[edit] Intention to Marry
When a person intends to marry in Islam, he or she can do so for a number of reasons under the Sharia (Islamic Law). Homosexuality is strictly forbidden by the Sharia and so the union of any homosexual couple is considered invalid.
[edit] Marriage
The purpose, rules, and regulations of the Islamic Marriage Contract. The dissolution of the contract, Talaq, is often described as the most disliked of permissible things in Islam and should be used as a last resort.
[edit] Nikah
Nikah (Arabic: نكاح, literally: to have sex<ref>http://www.sensagent.com/dictionnaires/ar-en/نكاح/ALEXMN/</ref>) is the first, and most common form of marriage for Muslims; described in the Qur'an in 4:4.
Regulations:
- It is aimed to be permanent, but can be terminated by husband engaging in the Talaq (divorce) process or the wife seeking a divorce.
- The couple inherit from each other.
- A legal contract is signed when entering the marriage.
- Females must choose a Muslim husband to marry; males may marry from Ahl al-Kitab.
- The husband must pay for the wife's expenses.
- The wife has to tell husband before she goes anywhere without him.
If a divorce date is determined in the Nikah contract:
- In Sunni jurisprudence, the contract is voided.
- In Shia jurisprudence, the contract is transformed into a Nikah Mut'ah.
- It is only permitted for women to engage in Nikah Mut'ah with Muslims, and for men, they must be from Ahl al-Kitab.
Requirement of witnesses:
[edit] Nikah Mut'ah
Nikah Mut'ah (Arabic: نكاح متعة,, literally: to have sex for satisfaction<ref>http://www.sensagent.com/dictionnaires/ar-en/نكاح/ALEXMN/</ref>), (often referred as "fixed-time marriage" since many of these marriages have a time limit), is the second form of marriage described in the Qur'an in 4:24. There is controversy on the Islamic legality of this type of marriage, since Sunnis believe it was abrogated by Muhammad, while Shias believe it was forbidden by Umar and hence that ban may be ignored since Umar had no authority to do so. The Qur'an itself doesn't mention any cancellation of it. Nikah Mut'ah sometimes has a preset time period to the marriage, traditionally the couple do not inherit from each other, the man usually is not responsible for the economic welfare of the women, and she usually may leave her home at her own discretion. Nikah Mut'ah also does not count towards a maximum of wives (four according to the Qur'an). The woman still is given her mahr, and the woman must still observe the iddah, a period of four months at the end of the marriage where she is not permitted to marry in the case she may have become pregnant before the divorce took place. This maintains the proper lineage of children.
[edit] Other Sunni types
main articles Nikah Misyar, Nikah Halala, Nikah urfi
Some Sunnis, deeming Nikah Mut'ah to be haraam follow distinct formations of Nikah. The first type is Nikah Halala, and is the only means by which a divorced woman that has been divorced for the third time can return to her first husband after consummation of another marriage. Nikah urfi, "Az-Zawaj ul-urfi", "Nikah urfi", "unregistred/hidden marriage" is a marriage that fills the Islamic juridical aspects of marriage, without filling a registration to the state.ref. A third and controversial type, not accepted by the majority of Sunnis, is Nikah Misyar, meaning "misyar (traveler) marriage". It is a new form of marriage similar to Nikah Mut'ah. and was innovated by prominent Salafi scholar, Bin Baaz. Nikah Misyar is controversial in some Sunni communities, such as the al-Azhar University in Cairo.
[edit] Walima
The Walima, a wedding banquet, is required after the Nikah. The Walima serves to celebrate the engagement of the couple and can be done anytime shortly after the Nikah.
[edit] Sexuality in Islam
The Islamic view of sex.
[edit] Married life in Qur'an and Sunnah
Explains how an ideal marriage is supposed to look like in the day to day routines, as they are different from other ideals.
[edit] Islamic adoption
Islam has its own rules of regulations regarding adoption, with distinct rules and regulations prior to and after the legal adoption. Muslims are allowed to adopt children and let the children to continue the lineage of their birth parents, but do not allow the adopted parents to make the adopted children to continue the adopted parents' lineage.
[edit] Divorce
[edit] Talaq
The ideal way to end a Nikah is Talaq, a legal Islamic divorce. In Sunni traditions, it is said that "divorce shakes the throne of Allah" and is the most disliked of halal practices. However, it is legal and is widely practiced.
[edit] Triple talaq
A (controversial) Sunni divorce that instantly divorces the couple and makes them haram for each other.
[edit] Conflicts after a Talaq
How mixing secular and religious laws can create problems.
[edit] See also
- Polygamy in Islam
- Religious aspects of marriage (for all religions).
- Women in Islam
- Nikah Ijtimah
- Rights and obligations of spouses in Islam
[edit] External links
- crescentlife.com's "Fundamentals of a happy marriage", credited to Shahina Siddiqui. A Muslim view of marriage structured around "21 F's", words beginning in F such as Faith, Forgiving, Forget, Forbearance, and so on. Similar content exists in multiple other sources, credited to various authors or uncredited.
[edit] References
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