Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
7. Concerning divorce
~ 160 ~
have been kept to a realistic minimum and have
been formulated to be consistent with normal
human capabilities. Moreover, their enforcement is
less relied upon than the religious conditioning of
the individual to ensure the maintenance of high
ethical standards and appropriate conduct in
marital affairs and family life.
The state of marriage not only lays the foundations
for family life, but also provides a training ground for
individuals to make a positive adjustment to society.
When a man and woman prove to be a good husband
and a good wife, they will certainly prove to be good
citizens in the broad spectrum of their social group.
This has been aptly expressed in a
hadith
: “The best of
you is one who is best for his family.”
138
138. Ibn Majah,
Sunan, Kitab an-Nikah,
1/636.
The family being the preliminary unit for the
training of human beings, its disintegration has an
injurious effect on the society to which those human
beings must individually make a positive
contribution, if collectively they are to form a good
and just nation. If the family no longer exists, it is
the whole of humanity which suffers.
