Why is the family important for the ‘social and religious life’ of the community?
Why is the family important for the 'social and religious life' of the community?
In Islam, the family is vitally important for the 'social and religious life' of the community because the Muslim family is the miniature of the whole of Muslim society and its firm basis. Let's first talk about the relationship between the parents and their children.
Parents and their children are generally very close emotionally and physically. Mothers ( and fathers as well ) often sleep with their children when they are young in order to give them better care and more security. Most Muslims had never been accustomed to leaving young children with babysitters or in nursery schools until quite recently. Children are often with their parents, sharing their experiences and happiness. If they must be left, as a rule, they must stay with either relatives, friends or reliable and trusted servants.
Training and guidance is an essential thing when Muslim parents bring up their children and it starts very early. Their aim is to try their best in 'moulding' their children so that they have a sound Islamic personality, with a good character and morals. The parents' training and guidance should enable the children to have strong Islamic principles, sound Islamic knowledge, proper Islamic behaviour, and the strength and tools to handle whatever the demands of life in a mature and responsible fashion. However, the parents should not just give indications and instruction as to what their children should do but far more importantly, the parents should set a living example of how to submit to God through conscientious practice of the teachings of Islam. Muslim parents should help their children along in avoiding behaviour, activities and companions which do not fit in with a pure Islamic life. The parents encourage their children to fulfil their Islamic obligations. They should place their children in a school which is good for their education, and are careful of whom their children play with and what they are allowed and not allowed to do. At the same time, they should also encourage their children in healthy activities and help to develop their interests. Young Muslims growing up, especially ones in the West will experience many problems, this could be social pressure from friends around them who are very far from Islam and are trying to lead them towards doing things that they know are forbidden e.g. alcohol, drugs. At this difficult time, parents are the greatest source of support. They should try and understand their children and try and guide them to the right path; they should offer them comfort, love and warmth so that the children do not search for solutions to their problems through unlawful sex ( sex before marriage is forbidden in Islam ), alcohol, drugs and other bad behaviour. Children take many years to become independent. A family gives a secure framework for them to grow up as part of the Muslim community. We can see how important the training from the parents to its children is - the morals, values, attitudes and training that the children receive in their family will be of use when they go out into the world. How they behave at home will contribute to how they will behave in social and religious life of the community.
Islam is a religion which guides its followers in every aspect of their lives. It is a way of life.
Let's consider some of the more social aspects :
Dress
There's much emphasis in Islam on protecting women from men's sexual desires. Muslim society does not approve of nudity and as the children go up, they are taught to be discreet about their bodies.
Modesty is the main consideration in dress for both sexes. Modesty is much emphasised in Islam. There are many verses in the Hadith which support this :
'Modesty ...
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Islam is a religion which guides its followers in every aspect of their lives. It is a way of life.
Let's consider some of the more social aspects :
Dress
There's much emphasis in Islam on protecting women from men's sexual desires. Muslim society does not approve of nudity and as the children go up, they are taught to be discreet about their bodies.
Modesty is the main consideration in dress for both sexes. Modesty is much emphasised in Islam. There are many verses in the Hadith which support this :
'Modesty and faith are joined closely together; if either of them is lost, the other goes also.'
'Every religion has a special character; the characteristic of Islam is modesty.'
(Hadith)
Apart from modesty, another consideration is to dress as simple as possible. Men are forbidden to wear silk or pure gold as Muslims are generally against wearing clothes that show off their wealth.
Once boys reach puberty, they must cover themselves at least from the navel to the knees. Girls must cover their tops as well but it is not necessary for them to over their heads, necks and arms when they are all-female company or at home.
For women, they should avoid wearing clothes that are too colourful, revealing, low-cut, short, transparent or tight. They should wear loose clothing that does not show off their figure. In practical terms, many women prefer the traditional long dress and head-veil - the hejab.
In strict Islamic countries, women would have to be fully veiled from head to toe whilst if they live in a non Islamic country, there are less restrictions.
There are often misunderstandings between Muslims and people in the West over the purpose of restrictions of Islamic dress code. Most Muslims, men and women are in favour of it because it gives women respect.
Alcohol and drugs
Prophet Muhammad said,
'Every intoxicant is khamr and every khamr is haram ( forbidden )'
Any substance that clouds the mind or impairs reasoning is forbidden. This would include things like alcohol and drugs. Both these things waste money and damages health. Muslims should not only refuse alcohol and drugs, they should really not even be in a place where alcohol is served or drugs are available.
Prophet Muhammad said, 'Do not drink wine - it is the key to every evil'
Elderly
Muslims find the idea of putting the elderly into 'homes' absolutely shocking.
Muslims see the family as the only place to care of its old people.
Muslims respect the older generation as they are full of wisdom and they looked after them when they were small.
'' ... If neither or both of them reach old age with thee, do not say to them ( so much as ) 'Uff!' nor chide them but address them in terms of honour, and out of kindness lower to them thy wing of humility and say, ' My Lord, have mercy on them as they cherished me in childhood' '' ( 17:23-24 )
As far as Muslims are concerned, grandparents are the head of the whole family.
'May his nose be rubbed in dust who found his parents approaching old age and did not enter paradise by serving them' ( Hadith )
Muslims don't consider the elderly as a burden on them but they consider them in a complete opposite way. The elderly people are very much respected in the family. When Muslim parents reach old age, they are treated mercifully, with kindness and selflessness. In Islam, serving one's parents is a duty second to prayer.
Sex before marriage
Once boys and girls reach puberty, they are not allowed to mix freely together outside their homes. Muslims girls have their social life within their homes as the Western style parties and clubs are frowned upon. This is done to prevent promiscuity, to protect the young.
Pre-marital sex is forbidden in Islam, it prevents the provocation of sexual desire and doing something that is not right in order to fulfil that desire. Parents try not to expose things like sex, drugs or alcohol to their children.
Islam teaches that the right and only place for sex is within marriage. This does not mean that Islam is against sex, on the contrary, it regards sex as a natural part of human being and is therefore a gift from Allah. But sex must be used in the way that Allah intended and not abused if people are to benefit from it.
The concept of no premarital sex can be very hard for Muslim teenagers living in Britain as many of their Western friends may have boyfriends or girlfriends and take part in some kind of sexual act. It can be very hard for Muslims teenagers to resist these temptations. Pre-marital sex is prohibited by Islam due to their potential consequences e.g. teenage pregnancy. No pre-marital sex will mean that there's a less promiscuous, better protected community.
Here are the more religious aspects : they include their 5 basic beliefs and also some of the rituals they perform i.e. Id-ul-Fitr and Id-ul-Adha.
The 5 pillars
They are the main beliefs of Islam, they are the framework of the Muslim life. The lack of any one of them would make a Muslim's life incomplete.
Shahada - Belief
This is the declaration of faith which states that,
'There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God.'
It is recited when people are called to prayer, and the first words whispered into a new born baby's ear.
Salat - Prayer
Prayer is very important in a Muslim's life. It is performed five times a day with the wudu done before the prayers. Salat basically consists of set words which are recited from memory accompanied by set actions - this cycle of ritual prayers and postures is called a rak'ah.
Salat is very much a discipline to Muslims as Muslims believe that a deliberate conscious effort should be made which is trained and disciplined. Wudu - the ritual washing before prayer is a discipline too.
Part of the adhan, the call to prayer states that 'prayer is better than sleep'. Muslims don't find praying 5 times a day a burden on them but on the contrary, they find it a great comfort as praying is like meditation to them.
Zakah - Alms
Zakah is an obligatory poor-tax. It is a type of charity to help the poor and needy in Islam e.g. poor families, students and even Islamic organisations. It is a relatively small tax of 2.5% of a person's wealth. Zakah is Islam's way of distributing wealth and making a fairer society. Muslims believe that Zakah 'purifies' them of greed selfishness. Practising Zakah would help the poor in people's own community and also in communities in other parts of the world.
Sawm - Fasting
This is a special month for Muslims because it was during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muhammad received his first revelation of the Qur'an. This is why Muslims commemorate it by fasting. They go without food and drink during the daylight hours of every day of the month. Not only do they go without food, Muslims should also give up any bad thoughts and wrongdoings especially during Ramadan.
Fasting greatly benefits Muslims. It makes the rich realise how the poor people must feel when they are always without food; it makes people appreciate good things they have each day; it has a feeling of togetherness where all Muslims, rich and poor meets the same demands of the fast and share their food together at night; it enables them to learn self-control and how to endure hardships etc.
Hajj - Pilgrimage
This is the Fifth Pillar of Islam where all Muslims perform the Greater Pilgimage at least once in their lives, if possible. Sometimes, a few representatives will go for their community as not everybody can afford going on Hajj.
The festival of Id-ul-Adha is explained further in 'Rituals'.
Rituals
The two main rituals or celebrations that are important to Muslims have already been briefly mentioned above. They are the Id-ul-Fitr and the Id-ul-Adha.
The festival after Ramadan is Id-ul-Fitr. They have a very big feast. All Muslims celebrate this, they make a special effort to go to the mosque for prayer. Friends and family gather together and have a big feast. Every Muslims who can afford it pays Zakat-ul-Fitr. This is paid so that even the poor can have money to enjoy the feast. At this festival, Muslim realise the importance of families and friends and respect them.
The Id-ul-Adha - the Festival of Sacrifice is celebrated. Muslims all over the world join in with the pilgrims in Mecca to sacrifice animals : a goat / sheep per family, or a cow or camel between a large group. A third of the meat is eaten by the family which bought it; a third is given to friends and relatives; a third is given to the poor. In this festival, like the Id-ul-Fitr, Muslims realise again the importance of family, relatives and friends.
Qur'an
The Qur'an is very important in Muslims' lives. They believe that the Qur'an is a perfect copy of a heavenly book and they therefore treat it with extreme care. The Qur'an is part of a Muslim's daily life. The opening chapter of the Qur'an is recited at the beginning of each rak'ah at the five daily prayers. Muslims make efforts to read the Qur'an during Ramadan. Once Muslims children go to the madrasah, they will start learning the Qur'an.
There are also some aspects which are both social / religious, here are a few examples :
Food
Muslims are only allowed to eat halal food. Alcohol is forbidden, all fish and vegetables are permitted and there are some restrictions on meat.
Muslims are not allowed to eat any products coming from pigs as they consider pigs as a very dirty animal. Any other meat they eat must have been killed according to Islamic regulations - the animal's throat must be cut swiftly with a sharp knife, and the Bismillah blessing should be said over it. They believe that they should kill animals in an humane way with as less pain as possible.
They are also taught not to waste their food as it comes from Allah. They should think how many people in the world are starving and therefore should take only as much food as they can eat. If there are leftovers, they are usually thrown out to feed the birds so that they are not wasted.
The Shari'ah
The Shari'ah is the Islamic law; A Muslim's whole life is governed by it as Islam is a way of life. It means the 'straight path'. The Shari'ah is the code of behaviour for a Muslim, the law that determines what is right and permitted ( halal ) and what is wrong and prohibited ( harem ). To follow Shari'ah means living a morally responsible life. The basic rules of Shari'ah are actually said very clearly in the Qur'an, some examples are :
* Show kindness to your parents.
* Do not take human life, except through process of law.
* Give full measure and weigh fairly.
* Do not touch an orphan's wealth, except to improve it. etc...
