The Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islam (Kitab an-Nikah) PDF
Preview The Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islam (Kitab an-Nikah)
Translator’s Introduction i The Proper Conduct - of Marriage in Islam - - - [Adab an-Nikah] . - - - BOOK TWELVE OF IH.YA› ‹ULUM AD-DIN i PCOM Section 1 1 11/22/07, 10:27 PM ii The Proper Conduct of Marriage . ii PCOM Section 1 2 11/22/07, 10:27 PM Translator’s Introduction iii The Proper Conduct - of Marriage in Islam - - - [Adab an-Nikah] . - - - BOOK TWELVE OF IH.YA› ‹ULUM AD-DIN - - - . IMAM AL-GHAZALI TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY MUHTAR HOLLAND iii AL-BAZ PUBLISHING, INC. HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA PCOM Section 1 3 11/22/07, 10:27 PM iv The Proper Conduct of Marriage ————————————————————————— “Guard yourselves and your families” Qur›ån (66:6) Cover Design: Rohana Filippi Using watercolor and wax to combine the beauty of Arabic script with the Qur’ånic message on paper, Italian artist Rohana Filippi has developed her own artistic style through personal research and inner inspiration. Her art is entirely devoted to “expressing Allåh’s presence everywhere.” Ms. Filippi, who currently resides in New York, has lived and worked in Italy, England, Mexico, Colombia and the United States. Cover Design: Dryden Design, Houston, Texas Cover Preparation: Susan Lee Graphic Design, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Flower designs: Frances Gardner, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Body text set in Jilani and Ghazali fonts by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. Printed on acid-free paper. ————————————————————————— © 1998 by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. Hollywood, Florida. Second Edition December 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing by the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-84302 ISBN: 1–882216–14-8 Concerning the Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islåm. Published by Al-Baz Publishing, Inc. 8807 148th Ave NE, Building E, Redmond, WA 98052 Phone: (425) 869-3923 E-mail: [email protected] Printed and bound in the United States of America. iv PCOM Section 1 4 11/22/07, 10:27 PM Translator’s Introduction v Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION ix CONCERNING THE AUTHOR xi Author’s Introduction Preamble to the book by the author, Ab« ªåmid Mu¥ammad al-Ghazålº 5 Chapter One The Merits and Disadvantages of Marriage 7 Chapter Two Circumstances of the Woman and Conditions of the Contract 43 Chapter Three Conjugal Life. Concerning the properties of conjugal life, and what takes place during marriage. Examination of the respective duties of husband and wife 59 ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR 97 v PCOM Section 1 5 11/22/07, 10:27 PM vi The Proper Conduct of Marriage vi PCOM Section 1 6 11/22/07, 10:27 PM Translator’s Introduction vii Acknowledgments All praise is due to Allåh, the Beneficent, the Merciful! We bear witness that there is no god except Allåh, and that Mu¥ammad is the Messenger of Allåh! Our Lord, thank You for giving us this wholesome task! vii PCOM Section 1 7 11/22/07, 10:27 PM viii The Proper Conduct of Marriage viii PCOM Section 1 8 11/22/07, 10:27 PM Translator’s Introduction ix Translator’s Introduction Of all my translations, this one surely deserves the prize for patience, since it has waited twenty years for publication. (Patience is a virtue, of course, and perhaps especially in the context of marriage!) In 1977, my rather large family and I spent several months at Wisma Subud, in Jakarta, Indonesia. I was about to take up a teaching post at the nearby International School, when, due to a dramatic shift in Indonesian government policy, it became impossible to obtain the necessary immigrant status. Our British passports assured us that Her Britannic Majesty would receive us with hospitality, so we flew in haste to London, via Singapore, Bombay and Moscow. My dear brother and his wife performed the near-miracle of squeezing all nine of us into their tiny apartment. Then we found a home near Rochester, Kent, through the good offices of a somewhat unorthodox clergyman—who attached greater value to helping his fellow creatures than to observing formalities, whether ecclesiastical or governmental. The house had been condemned by the local council, on account of a road-scheme that had not been implemented. Though somewhat dilapidated, it was habitable enough, so I set to work in the basement— on my translation of Imåm al-Ghazålº’s “Proper Conduct of Marriage.” By 1978, when the translation was essentially completed, we had moved to Leicester, at the invitation of the Islamic Foundation. I declined an offer to publish the work in an edited form, because I felt that the reader deserved to know everything that Imåm al-Ghazålº had to say. Several other translations of mine were published in the 1980’s, following our move to the U.S.A., but “Marriage” failed to find a publishing mate. Then, in the early 1990’s, the rights were acquired by Al-Baz, which is now poised to send the work to the printer. May the reader be as well pleased as the translator! Muhtar Holland February, 1998 ix PCOM Section 1 9 11/22/07, 10:27 PM
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