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From: [email protected] (Asim Mughal)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.islam,bit.listserv.muslims,alt.answers,news.answers
Subject: Islam FAQ (Part 6/15): Marriage Laws in Islam
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Summary: This posting contains Frequently Asked Questions for
Islam. Part 6 of 15.
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Archive-name: islam-faq/part6
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/3/27
Version: 3.3
Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California

Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal ([email protected])

Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format
prohibited without explicit written permission of the author.
Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and
attribution.

Frequently Asked Questions: Part 6
__________________________________

This message is automatically posted to 'soc.religion.islam'
every month and when updated. This lists answers to most
commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes
are requested and should be directed to: [email protected]

OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for
Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index.

Part 1 - Welcome & Index
Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
Part 4 - God & Worship
Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
Part 7 - Women In Islam
Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in Islam
Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on Internet
Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods

________________________________________________________

PART 7: Marriage Laws In Islam

Contents

--Articles--
1. Marriage ........................................................ from IINN
2. Whom to Marry ................................................... from IINN
3. Mahr ............................................................ from IINN
4. Intimacy ........................................................ from IINN
5. Walima .......................................................... from IINN
6. Duties & Rights After Marriage .................................. from IINN
7. Advices to Husbands ............................................. from IINN
8. Advices to Wives ................................................ from IINN
--Announcements--
9. Archive Info ..............................................................
10. Credits ...................................................................

Articles .....................................................................

1. Marriage ........................................................ from IINN

Spouses:

Allah, most Gracious says about spouses in Quran:

Among His signs is [the fact] that He has created spouses for you among
yourselves so that you may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has
planted love and mercy between you; In that are signs for people who
reflect. Qur'an [30 : 21]

He has planted affection and mercy between you. Qur'an [30: 12] and
says:

They are a garment for you and you are a garment to them. Qur'an [2 :
187]

Consider this in conjunction with the following verse:

The best garment is the garment of God-consciousness Qur'an [7 : 26]

It requires that a husband and wife should be as garments for each
other. Just as garments are for protection, comfort, show and
concealment for human beings, Allah expects husbands and wives to be for
one another.

And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another;
they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish worship
and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger; as for
those, Allah will have mercy on them; Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise. Allah
hath promised to believers - men and women - gardens underwhich rivers
flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in gardens of everlasting
bliss; but the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah: This is the
supreme felicity.

Qur'an [9 : 71 - 72]

2. Whom to Marry ................................................... from IINN

Allah also gives us freedom and urges us to:

...Marry the women of your choice... Qur'an [4 : 3] Similarly, for the
women:

"A girl came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and informed him that
her father had married her to her cousin against her wishes, whereupon
the Prophet allowed her to exercise her choice. She then said, 'I am
reconciled to what my father did but I wanted to make it known to women
that fathers have no say in this matter'". - Hadith narrated by Ibn
Majah

Narrated Abdullah: "We were with the Prophet, peace be upon him, while
we were young and had no wealth whatever. So Allah's Apostle, peace be
upon him, said, `O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should
marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty, and
whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting diminishes his
sexual power.'"

Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `A woman is
married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family status, her
beauty, and her religion. So you should marry the religious woman
[otherwise] you will be a loser.'"

3. Mahr ............................................................ from IINN

Mahr is the gift that is given by the husband to his wife at wedding. It
can be anything in any amount, as agreed by the bride and bride-groom.

Allah says about Mahr in the Chapter `Woman' in Quran:

And give the women (on marriage) their Mahr as a free gift. Qur'an [4 :
4]

If you had given the latter a cantar (of gold i.e. a great amount) for
dower (Mahr) take not the least bit of it back ... Qur'an [4 : 20]

Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to a man,
`Marry, even with (a Mahr equal to) an iron ring.'"

4. Intimacy ........................................................ from IINN

Intimacy is seen as an act of procreation. An eye for the what is about
to come is kept open in this respect as well. The following prayer
reminds us of God, results of our actions and reminds us of our
commitment to train our offspring.

Narrated Ibn Abbas: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `If anyone of
you, when having a sexual intercourse with his wife says:

In the name of Allah! O Allah! Protect me from Satan and protect what
you bestow upon us (i.e. an offspring) from Satan. and if it is destined
that they should have a child, then Satan will never be able to harm
him.'"

5. Walima .......................................................... from IINN

Walima is the wedding reception given to friends and family after the
consummation of marriage. It is given by the husband on this auspicious
occassion, showing his happiness and sharing it with the friends and
family.

Abdur Rahman bin Auf said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to me,
`Give a wedding banquet, even with one sheep.'"

Narrated Abu Musa: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `Set the
captives free, accept the invitation (including to a wedding banquet),
and pay a visit to the patients.'"

By this saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, it is also enjoined
upon us to join in the happiness of our brothers.

6. Duties & Rights After Marriage .................................. from IINN

Duties and Rights of Husband and Wife after marriage:

Allah informs us about the just rights of each other on us:

But, in accordance with justice, the wife's rights (with regard to their
husbands) are equal to the (husband's) rights with regard to them,
although men are a degree above them; and Allah is Almighty, Wise.
Qur'an [2 : 228]

The statement that men are a degree above women means that authority
within the household has been give to the husband in preference to the
wife because a heavier burden has been placed on his shoulders by
another verse of the Quran which says:

Men shall take full care of women, because Allah has given the one more
strength than the other, and because they support them from their means.
Qur'an [4 : 34]

7. Advices to Husbands ............................................. from IINN

Jabir Narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave these
instructions in his sermon during Farewell Pilgrimage: "Fear God
regarding women; for you have taken them [in marriage] with the trust of
God." [Mishkat]

Narrated Aisha, God's messenger said: "Among the believers who show most
perfect faith are those who have the best disposition, and are kindest
to their families." [Tirmidhi]

Narrated Abu Huraira, God's messenger said: "The believers who show the
most perfect faith are those who have the best disposition and the best
of you are those who are best to their wives." [Tirmidhi]

Aisha has related that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, would enter
the house with a pleasing disposition and a smile on his lips.
[Uswa-i-Hasana]

Narrated Al-Aswad: "I asked Aisha, `What did the Prophet, peace be upon
him, do at home?' She said, `He used to work for his family and when he
heard the call for the prayer, he would go out.'" [Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, said, `The
woman is like a rib; if you try to straighten her, she will break. So if
you want to get benefit from her, do so while she still has some bent.'"
[Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `Whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt (trouble) his
neighbor. And I advise you to take care of women, for they are created
from a rib and the most crooked portion of the rib is its upper part; if
you try to straighten it, it will break, and if you leave it, it will
reamin crooked, so I urge you to take care of women. [Bukhari]

Narrated Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon
him, said, `O Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you fast all the
day and stand in prayer all night?' I said, `Yes, O Allah's Apostle!' He
said, `Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave them at
other times; stand up for the prayer at night and also sleep at night.
Your body has a right over you and your wife has a right over you.'"
[Bukhari]

Narrated Ibn Umar: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `All of you
are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The ruler is a
guardian and the man is a guardian of his family; the lady is a guardian
who is responsible for her husband's house and his offspring; and so all
of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.'"

Men should forbear any shortcomings of women in view of the following
verse of Quran:

Live with them in kindness; even if you dislike them, perhaps you
dislike something in which God has place much good. Qur'an [4 : 19]

8. Advices to Wives ................................................ from IINN

Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "When a woman observes the five
times of prayer, fasts during Ramadan, preserves her chastity and obeys
her husband, she may enter by any of the gates of paradise she wishes
(in other words nothing will prevent her from entering paradise)."
[Mishkat]

Um Salma reported God's messenger as saying, "Any woman who dies when
her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise." [Tirmidhi]

Abu Huraira told that when God's messenger was asked which woman was
best, he replied, "The one who fills [her husband] with joy when he sees
her, obeys him when he directs and does not oppose him by displeasing
him regarding her person or property." [Mishkat]

Providing for wife and family:

Quran teaches us to be reasonable and fair to our wives and family.

House women wherever you reside, accoding to your circumstances, and do
not harass them in order to make life difficult for them. Qur'an [65 :
6]

The statement of Allah in the chapter `Woman':

`Men are protectors and maintainers of women.' Qur'an [4 : 34]

Bukhari quotes the following verse under the heading: .. the superiority
of providing for one's family:

(O Mohammed!) They ask you what they ought to spend. Say: That which is
beyond your needs. Thus Allah make clear to you His Signs in order that
you may give thought (to it) in this worldly life and the Hereafter.
Qur'an [2 : 219-220]

Narrated Abu Masud Al-Ansari: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
`When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to receive
Allah's reward, it is regarded as Sadqa (spending in the name of God)
for him.'"

We should always remember that Allah is the one who gives us, we are
mere trustees of the funds.

Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, said, `Allah
said, O the son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you.'"

Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, said, `The
best alms is that which you give when you are rich, and you should
support your dependants first.'" [Bukhari]

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger, peace be upon him, as saying: "Of
the dinar (unit of currency) that you spend as a contribution in God's
path, or to set free a slave, or as charity given to a needy, or to
support your family, the one yielding the greatest reward is that which
you spent on your family. [Muslim]

Announcements ................................................................

9. Archive Info ..............................................................

This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public
retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web.

-- Anonymous FTP --

Login: anonymous
Password: Your e-mail address

Site: rtfm.mit.edu
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.uu.net
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/

-- E-MAIL --

Send E-mail to: [email protected]

Text of E-mail Message:

send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/part6
quit

-- GOPHER --

Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
Path: Computing Information/
CCO anonymous ftp archive/
pub/
calmsa/
islam-faq/

Site: latif.com 70
Path: Resources relating to Islam/
Soc.Religion.Islam

-- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --

One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.'

URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html

URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html

10. Credits ...................................................................

The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any capacity for
the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ.

-- SOURCES --

The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ is from
brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic Information &
Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic form by
Ms.M.Ahmed.

The information on soc.religion.islam forum (in Part 2) has been
compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel.

What is III&E?

III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & Education
which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The III&E is
registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization.

More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O.
Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-7199; or
or Tel: (312) 777-7443.

-- FORMAT --

The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing resources of
Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, Nebula,
written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been used.

What is IINN?

Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to educate the
network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an academic
& non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on internet by
subscribing to [email protected] (A Bitnet listserv list) and on
USENET: bit.listserv.muslims.

-- Permissions --

Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained by the
following:

o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
o Islamic Information & News Network ([email protected])
o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

# End of Islam FAQ Part 6 #