Ayesha Nasir publishes a piece (for Slat…
Ayesha Nasir publishes a piece (for Slate’s XX) about being discouraged from reading or discussing her marriage contract before her marriage in Pakistan. I was happy to learn more about problems around the culture of marriage in Pakistan, and I hope people will work for solutions. I don’t know Ms. Nasir’s background, but she makes some statements about Islamic law that I think are confused and although in general she makes it clear she is talking about her own experience and culture in Pakistan at times she seems to be making claims about Islamic practice that are not true universally.
It’s safe to say that although there are many deep problems with Muslim marriage in the United States, the problems are generally different than those in Muslim cultures although I’m sure among some recent immigrants there must be more overlap.
AA, and 
abunoor are discussing.
abunoor 1:58 pm on February 25, 2010 Permalink |
It is probably not fair to cast vague doubts about Ms. Nasir’s piece. She states that most women sign away the right to divorce in their nikah contracts without knowing it. This is not true. There are some scholars which permit Muslim women to demand a provision in their contract in which the husband delegates to them the right to unconditional divorce, and I guess what she means is that most women don’t realize they could include that or that it is not included in their contract.
AA 5:44 pm on February 25, 2010 Permalink |
Please correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding is that unlike Christianity where marriage is a sacred institution, Islam does not emphasizes on sacredness of the marriage (there is no sin in divorce, etc), instead it focuses on the social contract between the man and woman.
The cultural shadow of sub-content on the marriage ceremony is notwithstanding but the essence of Islamic teaching has still not been able to get a hold on the people because we’re still working under the age-old cultural practices (the reason parents prevented this person from reading the contract is because apparently it would bring bad omen).
Thanks for sharing, interesting read.