Institution of marriage and social duties of Muslims

The foremost and fundamental institution of human society is the
family unit. A family is established by the coming together of a man
and a woman, and their contact brings into existence a new generation.
It then produces ties of kinship and community, which gradually
develop into a large society. The family is the institution through
which a generation prepares the succeeding generation for the service
of human civilization and for the discharge of its social obligations
with devotion, sincerity and enthusiasm.
This institution does not merely recruit cadets for the maintenance
and development of human culture but its guardians. They earnestly
desire thatthose who have to replace them in the future should be
better than themselves. In this respect the family can be truly
called the fountain-head of progress, development, prosperity and
strength of human civilization on Earth.
Hence, besides the social problems, Islam devotes much attention to
those relating to the family andstrives to establish this important
social unit on the healthiest and strongest foundations. According to
Islam, the correct form of relationship between a man and woman is
marriage, that is, the onein which full social responsibilities are
undertaken by them and which results in the emergence of a family.
Irresponsible behaviour are not condoned by Islam as innocent past
times or ordinary transgressions. Rather, they are acts that strike at
the very roots of human society.
Hence, Islam aims at purifying and purging the society of all
activitiesthat encourage such irresponsible action or provide
opportunities forthem. Regulations of Hijaab (an out fit women must
adhere to in Islam) , ban on free mixing of men and women,
restrictions on music and films and discouragement of the spread and
propagation of obscenities and aberrations, are all intended to guard
against this.
Their sole object is to protect and strengthen the institution of the
family. Islam does not merely regard the desirable form of social
contact as just permissible but holds andaffirms it as a good and
virtuous act. Indeed, it is seen as an act of worship. It does not
simply look upon celibacyof an adult person with disfavor, but calls
upon every young man and woman to take, in his turn, the social
responsibilities of married life just as his or her parents did in
their time.
Islam also strongly disapproves those rites, ceremonies or
restrictions that make marriage a difficult and tedious affair. The
intention of Islam is that marriage may become easy and fornication
(andadultery) the most difficult thing in society, and not vice versa
as it is in most of the societies today.
Hence, besides debarringa few specified relatives from entering into
matrimony with one another, it has legalized marital relations with
all other near and distant kith and kin. It has removed all
distinctions of caste and community and permitted matrimony of any
Muslimwith any other Muslim, although being equivalent in status is a
matter that is recognized when considering marriage. It has
enjoinedthat the amount of Mahr (dower) should be fixed at a low and
easy figure, the burden of which can be easily borne by the husband
and has dispensed with the necessity of clerics and offices of
compulsory registration.
In an Islamic society, marriage is such a plain and simple ceremony as
can be performed anywhere before two witnesses, and a Wali (woman's
guardian or one whom he authorizes), though it is essential that the
proceedings should know that the couple is now going to live a
matrimonial life.
Within the family itself, Islam has assigned to the man a position of
authority so that he may maintain order and discipline as the chief of
the household. Islam expects the wife to obey and look after the
comforts and well-being of her husband and expects the children to
behave accordingly with their parents. Islam doestnot favor a loose
and disjointed family system, which is devoid of any authority,
control and discipline and in which someone is not
pointedlyresponsible for the proper conduct and behaviour of its
members.
Discipline can only be maintained through a central authority and in
the view of Islam the position of father in the family is such that it
makes him the fittest person to take over this responsibility. But
this does not mean that the man has been made a tyrant and an
oppressor in the household and the woman has been handedover to him as
a helpless chattel. According to Islam, the real spirit of marital
life is love, understanding and mutual respect. If the woman has been
asked to obey the husband, the latter has been called upon to exercise
his privileges towards the welfare of the family andtreat his wife
with love, affection and sweetness.
Islam makes the marital bond strong but not unbreakable. It aims at
keeping the bond intact only so long as it is founded on sweetness of
love or for as long as at least the possibility of lasting
companionship exists. When this possibility of lasting companionship
exists. When this possibility diesout, it gives the man the right of
divorce and the woman the right of separation. Under
certainconditions, when married life has become a source of misery and
nuisance, it also gives theIslamic courts of justice the authority to
annul the marriage.

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