The Rights of Husband and Wife

that sexual relationships between men and women should be regularized and placed on a stable basis. And for such organization, there is no better solution, than marriage. The human way is the way of marriage: free mixing is inhuman. LIFE PARTNER What fundamentally determines the rights and duties of men and women in the roles of husbands and wives is the fact that they are partners for life. This basic principle is derived from the verse of the Qur’an which says that men and women are part of one another.5 In this respect the difference between the tenets of modern civilization and the rulings of the shari’ah is that, the former hold men and women to be equals, while the latter hold men and women to be lifelong partners. It is this difference which shows that the two systems are poles apart. A RELIGION OF NATURE Islam being a religion of nature, its teachings are based on simple ‘principles of nature. When these principles are earnestly adhered to, the family becomes a cradle of peace and amity. Many details have been formulated by the jurists of Islam regarding the relationship between men and women. Here we are not concerned with legal details. I would like here to state only those basic principles which are laid down in the Qur’an and the Hadith, which serve as the basis of the Islamic way of life. (Legal details are available in all the standard books, which may be consulted by anyone who is interested in the legal aspects of marriage.) THE POSITION OF MAN VIS – A - VIS WOMAN When a man and a woman enter into the marital bond, they bring into existence a social unit called the family. Like any other social unit, this requires an organizer or supervisor. For this special role, Islam has chosen man. Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because God has made some of them to excel others, and because they support them from their means.6 Making man the maintainer in no way indicates that man is superior to woman. This choice is based on man’s capacities for management rather than on his superiority. In a democratic system, everyone has been granted an equal status yet when a government is formed, one particular individual is entrusted with supreme political power. This does not mean that this possessor of power is superior to other citizens. In a democratic system, the president or the prime minister has one vote like all the other citizens. Even then, in the interest of good management authority is entrusted to a single individual.