The family in Islam is a unit in which a man and woman unite to share life together according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Shari’ah. They become as close to each other as a garment is to the body. The husband’s honour becomes an integral part of his wife’s honour, and vice versa. They share each other’s prosperity and adversity. Thus in Islam the bridal couple are united as husband and wife in the presence of witnesses seeking Allah’s blessings to increase in mutual love and compassion and agreeing to care for each other in sickness and adversity. This fundamental principle of Islamic marriage, understood and observed by the spouses, is the basis of the institution of Muslim marriage. In the family, the man is charged with the duty of being the leader of the family and the woman is assigned the duty of looking after the household. Even if the man has more responsibility than the woman and thereby has a degree over her, it does not make a husband inherently better than his wife. Read the rest of this entry »