Islam is a complete way. It has a distinct outlook on life. It gims at producing a unique personality in the individual and a distinct culture for the community based on Islamic ideals and values.The institutians of marriage and the faimily occupy a very important position in this scheme of life. An effort is being made in this small book to explain the Islamic concept of marriage and the family. The original inspiration for this essay came from a recent conference. The Standing Conference on Christian-Muslim Dialogue organised a three day conference at Wood Hall, Wetherby, Yorks, on the family in Christianity and Islam. I was invited to present Islamic viewpoint on the subject. The talk produced immense interest and sparked off very useful discussions in the following days. As the talk was given before a predominantly Christian audience I had to begin with the Islamic approach to life and gradually explain the institution of the family and the principles on which the family relations are built in a Muslim society. The present book is an out-growth of that talk. I hope it will, in its present form, reach a much wider audience and will be helpful in developing a better understanding of the Islamic family.
Table of Contents --
Islamic Approach to Life: The Foundations Tauhid: The Unity of God Man’s Vicegerency A Complete Way of Life Faith As the Basis of Society The Family in Islam: Basic Principles Divinely-Inspired Institution Social Contract Faith and the Family Marriage Equality of the Sexes The Family: Its Objectives and Functions Preservation and Continuation of the Human Race Protection of Morals Psycho-Emotional Stability, Love and Kindness Socialisation and Value-Orientation Social and Economic Security Widening the Family Horizons and Producing Social Cohesion in Society Motivation for Effort and Sacrifice The Family in Islam: Structure, Principles and Rules Marriage and Divorce The Way Marriage is Contracted The Structure of a Muslim Family The Position of Man and Woman The Family and Society
Khurshid Ahmad was a Pakistani economist, philosopher, politician, and an Islamic activist who helped to develop Islamic economic jurisprudence as an academic discipline and one of the co-founders (along with Khurram Murad) of The Islamic Foundation in Leicester, UK. A senior conservative figure, he was a long-standing party worker of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) party, where he successfully ran for Senate in the general elections held in 2002 on a platform of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). He served in the Senate until 2012. He played his role as a policy adviser in Zia administration when he chaired the Planning Commission, focusing on the role of Islamising the country's national economy in the 1980s.