Muslims Internet Directory 2Muslims.com Presents

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Muslims Internet Directory 2Muslims.comPresents

• Bismillah Alrahman Alraheem

• Family Life In Islam

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Family Life in Islam by Olivia Monem

• O mankind! We created you from a single (pair)
  of a male and a female and made you into nations
  and tribes that you may know each other. Verily
  the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is
  (one who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah
  has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with
  all things). (Qur'an 4913)

• Husband and Wife
• Parents and Extended Family

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Husband and Wife

• Adam Eve
• Rights and duties of spouses
• Divorce Widowhood
• Polygamy

• And among His signs is that He created for you
  mates from among yourselves that you may live in
  tranquility with them, and He put love and mercy
  between you Verily, in that are signs for people
  who reflect. (Quran 3021)

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Adam Eve

• The Islamic story of Adam and Eve is found in
  several places in the Quran, for example
• "O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and
  enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or
  you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan
  whispered to them in order to reveal to them
  their shame that was hidden from them and he
  said 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest
  you become angels or such beings as live
  forever.' And he swore to them both that he was
  their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought
  them to their fall when they tasted the tree
  their shame became manifest to them and they
  began to sew together the leaves of the Garden
  over their bodies. And their Lord called unto
  them 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell
  you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' They said
  'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if
  You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your
  Mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (Quran
  719-23).
• The Quran places equal blame on both Adam and Eve
  for their mistake. Nowhere in the Quran can one
  find even the slightest hint that Eve tempted
  Adam to eat from the tree or even that she had
  eaten before him. Both Adam and Eve committed a
  sin, both asked God for forgiveness, and both
  were forgiven by God.

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Rights Duties of spouses

• Rights of the Wife
• to accept or reject any marriage proposal
• to receive MAHR, a gift from the husband
• to be treated with kindness and respect
• to be provided with food, shelter, and clothing
• to possess personal property, to acquire
  education and to seek employment
• to be consulted before any major family decisions
• to seek divorce if her husband chooses to marry
  another woman

• Rights of the Husband
• to be treated with kindness and respect
• to have his property, secrets and privacy secured
  by his wife
• to have the final say in major family decisions,
  after consultation
• to marry up to four wives, provided he abides by
  all conditions

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Rights Duties cont.

• Duties of the Husband
• to give MAHR, a gift, to his wife
• to treat his wife with kindness and and respect
• to provide his wife and family with food,
  shelter, clothing, and other necessities
• to fulfil his role as Father to his children
• to consult his wife before making any major
  family decisions

• Duties of the Wife
• to treat her husband with kindness and respect
• to keep, protect and guard her husbands secrets,
  their marital privacy, and her husbands property
• to manage household affairs
• to fulfill her role as Mother to her children
• to abide by any decisions made by her husband,
  after consultation

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Divorce Widowhood

• Regarding divorce and widowhood in general, there
  is no stigma attached to divorce or widowhood in
  the Quran - Widows and divorcees have the freedom
  to marry whomever they choose.
• Islam recognizes and allows divorce, but
  discourages it. The Quran offers Muslim married
  couples advice on how to save their marriage. If
  one of the partners is jeopardizing the
  matrimonial relationship, the other partner is
  advised by the Quran to do whatever possible and
  effective in order to save this sacred bond. But
  if a marriage has to end, then Islam allows the
  partners to separate peacefully and amicably.
• When you divorce women and they fulfil their
  terms three menstruation periods either take
  them back on equitable terms or set them free on
  equitable terms But do not take them back to
  injure them or to take undue advantage, If anyone
  does that, he wrongs his own soul. Do not treat
  Allah's signs as a jest" (2231).

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Polygamy

• The Quran, allowed polygamy, but also restricted
  it
• "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal
  justly with the orphans, marry women of your
  choice, two or three or four but if you fear
  that you shall not be able to deal justly with
  them, then only one" (43).
• This verse of the Quran was revealed after one of
  the battles, in which dozens of men were killed
  leaving behind widows and orphans.
• The Quran, limited the maximum number of wives to
  four under the strict condition of treating the
  wives equally and justly. In Islam, polygamy is
  only allowed, and is not the norm. It only
  provides a moral and practical solution to a
  situation in which there would be a great number
  of widows and orphans (like after a war or
  epidemic for example), who would otherwise be
  very vulnerable and in need of a stable family
  atmosphere.
• Men may choose to be monogamous, and in fact a
  first wife may include in her marriage contract
  that her husband stay monogamous (a condition
  mutually accepted, of course).

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Parents Extended Family

• Special status for Mothers
• Children
• The elderly

• We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents
  In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did
  she give him birth. The carrying of the (child)
  to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months.
  At length, when he reaches the age of full
  strength and attains forty years, he says Oh my
  Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Thy
  favor which You have bestowed upon me, and upon
  both my parents, and that I may work
  righteousness such as You may approve. (Quran
  4615)

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Special status for Mothers

• In Islam, the honor, respect, and esteem attached
  to motherhood is unparalleled. The Quran places
  the importance of kindness to parents as second
  only to worshipping God. The Quran in several
  other places puts special emphasis on the
  mother's great role in giving birth and nursing
• "And We have enjoined on man to be good to his
  parents In difficulty upon difficulty did his
  mother bear him and in two years was his weaning.
  Show gratitude to Me and to your parents"
  (3114).
• The very special place of mothers in Islam has
  been eloquently described also by Prophet
  Muhammad
• "A man asked the Prophet 'Whom should I honor
  most?' The Prophet replied 'Your mother'. 'And
  who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet
  replied 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?'
  asked the man. The Prophet replied 'Your
  mother!'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man.
  The Prophet replied 'Your father'" (Bukhari and
  Muslim).

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Children
Hello everyone!

• From the Islamic perspective, children are a gift
  and a blessing
• Wealth and children are the adornment of the
  life of this world (Quran Al-Kahf46)
• And Allah has made for you spouses of your own
  kind and has made for you, from your wives, sons
  and grandsons, and has bestowed upon you good
  provisions. (Quran Al-Nahl72)
• Before Islam, daughters used to be killed Islam
  forbade the practice of female infanticide
• When news is brought to one of them of (the
  birth of) a female (child), his face darkens and
  he is filled with inward grief! With shame he
  hides himself from his people because of the bad
  news he has had! Shall he retain her on
  (sufferance and) contempt or bury her in the
  dust? Ah! What an evil (choice) they decide on!
  (Quran 1658-59)
• Also, a girls inheritance became confirmed in
  the Quran
• From what is left by parents and those nearest
  related, there is a share for men and a share for
  women, whether the property be small or large - a
  determinate share. (Quran 47)

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The elderly

• In Islam, there is no room for institutional
  homes for the elderly. Caring for ones parents
  during their old age is considered an honor and a
  blessing. The Quran says that serving ones
  parents is second to worshipping God
• Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but
  Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one
  or both of them attain old age in your life, say
  not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them,
  But address them in terms of honor. And out of
  kindness, Lower to them the wing of humility, and
  say 'My Lord! bestow on them Your Mercy as they
  Cherished me in childhood' " (1723-24).
• The extended family plays a role in family
  disputes, and the opinion of the elderly
  (grandparents, great uncle/aunt, etc.) are
  usually sought in most discussions. Marriage in
  general is not just between two people, but
  between two families!
• When a Muslim dies, he or she is washed, usually
  by a family member, wrapped in a clean white
  cloth and buried with a simple prayer, preferably
  the same day. Muslims consider this one of the
  final services they can do for their relatives,
  and also an opportunity to remember their own
  brief time here on Earth.