The model of marriage constructed in classical Islamic jurisprudence rests on patriarchal ethics that privilege men. This worldview persists in gender norms and family laws in many Muslim contexts, despite reforms introduced over the past few decades. In this volume, a diverse group of scholars explore how egalitarian marital relations can be supported from within Islamic tradition. Brought together by the Musawah movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, they examine ethics and laws related to marriage and gender relations from the perspective of the Qur’an, Sunna, Muslim legal tradition, historical practices and contemporary law reform processes. Collectively they conceptualize how Muslim marriages can be grounded in equality, mutual well-being and the core Qur’anic principles of ‘adl (justice) and ihsan (goodness and beauty).

Islamic Divorce in the 21st Century shows the wide range of Muslim experiences in marital disputes and in seeking Islamic divorces. For Muslims, having the ability to divorce in accordance with Islamic law is of paramount importance. However, Muslim experiences of divorce practice differ tremendously. The chapters in this volume discuss Islamic divorce from West Africa to Southeast Asia, and each story explores aspects of the everyday realities of disputing and divorcing Muslim couples face in the twenty-first century. The book’s cross-cultural and comparative look at Islamic divorce indicates that Muslim divorces are impacted by global religious discourses on Islamic authority, authenticity, and gender; by global patterns of and approaches to secularity; and by global economic inequalities and attendant patterns of urbanization and migration. Studying divorce as a mode of Islamic law in practice shows us that the Islamic legal tradition is flexible, malleable, and context-dependent.

This book focuses on Islamic family law as interpreted and applied by judges in Europe, Australia and North America. It uses court transcriptions and observations to discuss how the most contentious marriage-related issues - consent and age of spouses, dower, polygamy, and divorce - are adjudicated. The solutions proposed by different legal systems are reviewed , and some broader questions are addressed: how Islamic principles are harmonized with norms based on gender equality, how parties bargain strategically in and out of court, and how Muslim diasporas align their Islamic worldview with a Western normative narrative.

Marriage is an age-old social institution regulated by rulings that have been established according to society, culture and religion. Islam promotes marriage between a man and a woman as a lawful way for them to reproduce and satisfy their sexual desires. In Islam, men and women are equal and marriage affords a way for them to complete each other. Islam does not accept a celibate lifestyle as a way of being more pious, as this goes against the human nature ordained by God. Through marriage, men and women become a source of comfort, rest and happiness for each other.This book explains from a classical viewpoint the rulings on marriage, divorce, custody and other important topics regarding Islamic family law. It explains how the early scholars developed their juristic opinions regarding family law according to the needs of the Muslims of their time.This book is divided into 14 chapters, which explain various aspects of family law. The first chapter introduces family law and explains the goal of the book, marriage in its historical context, how Islamic law was established and how Muslim jurists develop their juristic opinions. The book gives information on key concepts such as the nikāḫ (marriage contract), the basic principles of marriage, the rules of engagement and the etiquette of the marital sexual relationship. In Islam there is specific legislation regarding who is lawful to marry and what type of marriage contracts are permitted. These topics are explained in two chapters, which include those who are unlawful to marry and forbidden marriage contracts. Another important topic that is dealt with is guardians, agency, and equality in marriage. After this, mahr (dowry) and its rulings are explained in detail from the classical viewpoint. The following chapters deal with the topics of the marriage of non-Muslims and their status in Islamic law; breastfeeding (raḏā) and its rulings; adoption in Islam and its relevance to contemporary Muslims; divorce, its mechanism and related rulings; custody, maintenance and alimony. These are all explained from the viewpoint of classical Islamic law. The final chapter discusses contemporary issues relevant to today's Muslims and offers some analysis and criticism as well as solutions.

This is a uniquely comprehensive and up-to-date volume spanning nine regions and 38 Islamic countries around the world. More than a billion Muslims have their lives in such matters as marriage, divorce, maintenance, paternity and the custody of children governed by certain aspects of the Shari'a, commonly known as Islamic Family Law. But as the team who have put together this resource book point out, this does not mean that identical principles apply everywhere. In fact, as the socio-cultural and historical contextualisations which precede each country's legal profile make clear, the practical application of Shari'a principles is often modified by theological differences of interpretation, particular customary practices in the country concerned, and state policy and law. This volume documents the scope and actual manner of application of Islamic Family Law worldwide. Part of its purpose is the assumption that while changing social conditions - including a commitment to certain universal human rights -- make legal reform necessary, any strategy must be based first of all on the best possible factual foundations. And secondly, since Islamic Family Law has become contested ground between conservative and fundamentalist forces on the one hand and modernist and liberal trends on the other in most Islamic countries, reform must be conceived only in realistic terms and advocated in ways that motivate and empower potential supporters working in their own communities. This work is a uniquely valuable resource for lawyers, social policymakers and scholars. It is also a contribution to the historical challenge which Islamic societies confront in reforming personal and family law.

In Minor Marriage in Early Islamic Law, Carolyn Baugh offers an in-depth exploration of 8th-13th century legal sources on the marriageability of prepubescents, focusing on such issues as maintenance, sexual readiness, consent, and a father’s right to compel. Modern efforts to resist establishment of a minimum marriage age in countries such as Saudi Arabia rest on claims of early juristic consensus that fathers may compel their prepubescent daughters to marry. This work investigates such claims by highlighting the extremely nuanced discussions and debates recorded in early legal texts. From the works of famed early luminaries to the “consensus writers” of later centuries, each chapter brings new insights into a complex and enduring debate.