women n marriage..:)

Contrary to Christianity, Islam does not regard marriages as “made in heaven” or “till death do us part”. They are contracts, with conditions. If either side breaks the conditions, divorce is not only allowed, but usually expected. evertheless, a hadith makes it clear that: “Of all the things God has allowed, divorce is the most disliked.”

A Muslim has a genuine reason for divorce only if a spouse’s behaviour goes against the sunnah of Islam - in other words, if he or she has become cruel, indictive, abusive, unfaithful, neglectful, selfish, sexually abusive, tyrannical, perverted - and so on.

In good Islamic practice, before divorce can be contemplated, all possible efforts should be made to solve a couple’s problems. After an intention
to divorce is announced, there is a three-month period during which more attempts are made at reconciliation.

If, by the end of each month, the couple have resumed sexual intimacy, the ivorce should not proceed. The three-month rule ensures that a woman
cannot remarry until three menstrual cycles have passed - so, if she happens to be pregnant, the child will be supported and paternity will not be in dispute.

When Muslims die, strict laws govern the shares of property and money they may leave to others; daughters usually inherit less than sons, but this
is because the men in a family are supposed to provide for the entire household.
Any money or property owned by women is theirs to keep, and they are not bliged to share it. Similarly, in marriage, a woman’s salary is hers and cannot be appropriated by her husband unless she consents.

A good Muslim woman, for her part, should always be trustworthy and kind. She should strive to be cheerful and encouraging towards her husband and family, and keep their home free from anything harmful (haram covers all spects of harm, including bad behaviour, abuse and forbidden foods).

Regardless of her skills or intelligence, she is expected to accept her man as the head of her household - she must, therefore, take care to marry a man she can respect, and whose wishes she can carry out with a clear conscience. However,
when a man expects his wife to do anything contrary to the will of God - in other words, any nasty, selfish, dishonest or cruel action - she has the right to refuse him.

Her husband is not her master; a Muslim woman has only one Master, and that is God. If her husband does not represent God’s will in the home, the marriage contract is broken.

What should one make of the verse in the Koran that allows a man to punish his wife physically? There are important provisos: he may do so only if her ill-will is wrecking the marriage - but then only after he has exhausted all attempts at verbal communication and tried sleeping in a separate bed.

However, the Prophet never hit a woman, child or old person, and was emphatic that those who did could hardly regard themselves as the best of
Muslims. Moreover, he also stated that a man should never hit “one of God’s handmaidens”. Nor, it must be said, should wives beat their husbands or become inveterate nags.

Finally, there is the issue of giving witness. Although the Koran says nothing explicit, other Islamic sources suggest that a woman’s testimony in court is worth only half of that of a man. This ruling, however, should be applied only in
circumstances where a woman is uneducated and has led a very restricted life: a woman equally qualified to a man will carry the same weight as a witness.

So, does Islam oppress women?

While the spirit of Islam is clearly patriarchal, it regards men and women as moral equals. Moreover, although a man is technically the head of the household, Islam encourages matriarchy in the home. Women may not be equal in the manner defined by Western feminists, but their core differences from
men are acknowledged, and they have rights of their own that do not apply to men.

thanks to siter ainihayati in australia for this article...hope this "ilmu" can be share with others....:)

p/s: sorry sishoney xjwb lagi tags tuh..:) inssyallah akn djawab secepat munkin...when the times come..:)