Muslim Attitudes to Marriage and Family Life :: Papers, Religion, Culture

Muslim Attitudes to Marriage and Family Life Works Cited Missing In Islam, marriage is a partnership. Muslim women accept only Allah as their master, and do not therefore consider themselves to be inferior to a husband. It is basic in Muslim society that the man is responsible for the family's welfare and business outside the home, but the woman has virtually absolute rights within it so long as her behaviour does not shame her provider or husband. No institution works well without a clear leader, and therefore there should be one in every family. Most Muslim women are quite happy for this leader to be the man. If the man is not worth respecting, divorce is a straightforward matter, and the woman may look for a better one. Sometimes the woman in a household is more intelligent or organized or practical than the man, so he will quite sensibly leave most matters to her-but in Islam he is still responsible for her and therefore must take care of her and try to provide for her as much as he could and not just take advantage of her advantage of her. The women usually live with the husband's family but must be treated with the same respect and not considered an outsider. Marriage and family life are considered to be very important in Islam. Traditionally the man's duty is to go out to work to support the family and the woman's duty is to bring up the children and look after the household. The father makes the main decisions whilst the mother is important within the home and must be shown respect by her husband and children. This is seen as the natural order of things and the way Allah intended men and women to live. The man was also considered to be the provider for the family. Muslims believe that their household is an institution founded by God and intended to give a secure atmosphere for the growth and progress of all its members. Anything, which weakens or disrupts it, therefore