Fiqh al-Usra
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- Fiqh al-Usra
Fiqh al-Usra (Jurisprudence of the Family) is a legal treatise by contemporary scholar Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shanqiti addressing the jurisprudence of marital relations and familial rights in Islamic law .
Subject Matter and Structure
The work details the mutual rights and obligations governing the marital bond, addressing what God has mandated for each spouse toward the other to ensure justice and harmony in the household . Following discussions of the husband's rights over his wife, it dedicates sections to the rights of the wife upon the husband :
- Religious Guidance and Spiritual Care: The author identifies directing the spouse toward obedience to God as the foremost right of the wife upon her husband, serving as the foundational purpose of Islamic marriage . He highlights the necessity of enjoining good and forbidding wrong within the home and stresses prioritizing religious commitment when seeking a spouse based on Prophetic instruction .
- Financial Maintenance (al-Nafaqa): The text outlines the legal obligation of spousal support, categorizing it into food, clothing, and housing . It analyzes the parameters of food provision, the customary tools and utensils required for food preparation, and judicial rulings regarding payment delivery . The author details how maintenance is appraised according to the husband's financial standing—distinguishing between the affluent, the impoverished, and the middle stratum—and discusses cases where financial distress or supplementary expenditures arise .
- Fair Treatment and Prohibition of Injustice: The author emphasizes the gravity of depriving wives of their established rights, noting women's distinct vulnerability in marriage and their limited avenues of redress compared to men .
Method and Sources
The work derives its rulings through direct citation and exposition of textual evidence from the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus (ijma'), alongside juristic reasoning (ta'lil) . Key proofs examined include Quranic verses on maintenance ( لِيُنفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ [al-Talaq: 7] and الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ [al-Nisa: 34]), the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ admonitions at the Farewell Pilgrimage ( استوصوا بالنساء خيرًا and اتقوا الله في النساء ), and legal precedents such as the ruling given to Hind bint 'Utba regarding taking from an ungenerous husband's wealth according to custom .
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