By: Allama Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi

Dependence of Human Life
Do you know what would have happened, if this process had not been there in the plants? The result would be that no animal could have survived, because animal life depends on plants. If plants stop bearing fruit, animal life may end. Similarly, human life depends on both the plants and animals. If both are not there, then the end of human life is inevitable. From this perspective, one can see that the whole biological world is dependent on the law of marriage. Hence it is a universal law that reminds us of a Great Creator!

وَمِنْ کُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّکُمْ تَذَکَّرُوْنَ۔
We have created pairs of everything so that you may reflect. (Zariyat: 49)

The importance of human beings in the universe
Marriage and marital life is essential for the continuation of the life in this world, whether it is in the plant or animal world or in the human world. Man is the outcome of this universe, who has been created as a caliph on earth and this universe has been decorated for human beings. The beauty of this world is due to him alone, and he is the most beautiful flower of this garden. If human beings were not here, then this place would have been a deserted place; and the rose, narcissus, and jasmine would have mourned their worthlessness. There won’t be anyone to appreciate the cuckoo of koel or beautiful melodious songs of common-hawk. Diamonds, gems, and rubies would not have been appreciated. In this sense, man is the bridegroom of this colorful universe and the real diamond of this world.

Therefore, the status of human being is very high in this universe and hence his responsibilities too are many. Due to this, he has been burdened with moral and intellectual responsibilities while holding him on to the highest position of feeling, consciousness, IQ and intellect. And these are the characteristics which are lacked by all other species.

وَلَقَدْ کَرَّمْنَا بَنِى آدم وَحَمَلْنھُم فِى الْبَرِّوَالْبَحْرِوَرَزَقْنھُم مِن الطَّيِّبتِ وَفَضَّلْنھُم عَلى کَثِيْر مِمَّن خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيْلًا۔
And We honored the descendants of Adam (AS), and gave them rides on the land and sea, and blessed them with good things, and preferred them over many of what We have created. (Quran: 17:70)

Since human beings have been given the privilege over most the creatures, there is a significant difference between human beings and non-human beings with regard to the laws and practices of marriage, and he has been put under increased restrictions and regulations. Obviously, man’s creation and his formation are completely different from that of plants and animals, Plants are planted at one place on the earth, while animals have no morals, since the state of the intellect and consciousness is elementary in animals.

Humans are not mere animals
According to Darwin’s theory, man is not merely an “advanced” animal, rather an angel in terms of his nature, since angelic elements have been included in his fermentation. He is essentially a model of God’s attributes, who has been created for the purpose of distinguishing between good and evil. The fact is that man is an animal in one way and an angel in another. When the animality in a person dominates over the angelic character, he becomes a pure animal. But if his angelic character overrides his animality, he is called an angel. So the real humanity is that his animality must be overwhelmed, should not prevail. Otherwise there will be no difference between a human being and an animal. The essence of the call of all the Prophets was that they came to this world in order to overcome the animal instinct and to inspire angelic emotions.

A comparison of men and women sexually
As human beings, both men and women are equal in Islam. As far as sexuality is concerned, it is clear from the study of the Holy Qur’an that both men and women in the scriptures are called one another’s companion (wives) and one another’s clothing (al-Baqarah: 187), but the man has been declared as more needy for the woman than the vice versa. The Almighty says:

ھُوَالَّذِيْ خَلَقَکُمْ مِنْ نَّفْسٍ وَّاحِدَةٍ وَّجَعَلَ مِنْھَا زَوْجَھَا لِيَسْکُنَ اِلَيْھَا۔
He is the One who created you from one soul and created from it its mate (as a wife) so that he may find comfort in her. (Qur’an: 7:189)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اَنْ خَلَقَ لَکُمْ مِنْ اَنْفُسِکُمْ اَزْوَاجا لِّتَسْکُنُوا اِلَيْھَا وَجَعَل بَيْنَکَمْ مَوَدَّةً وَّرَحْمَةً۔
And amongst the signs of His (existence) is that He has created mates for you from yourself, so that you may find comfort in her, and He has created love and mercy among you. (Qur’an: 30: 21)

Aesthetically, though, men and women do attract each other and both of them enjoy from each other sexually, but as far as the exact situation in this regard is concerned, man has proved to be hasty and impatient in terms of sexuality as compared to the woman, while the woman has been bestowed with temperament and patience in her behavior. In addition to this, the natural modesty of the woman is also seen as a contraindication in this regard. That is why she always remains object rather than being subject. Therefore the Qur’an, taking action faithfully, has attributed this act to man rather than woman, as the two words ‘li yaskuna’ and ‘li yaskunu’ are indicating on this occasion. This means that sex actually benefits a man. Therefore, on another occasion, it has been stated that love of women has been well and truly embedded in the hearts of men, as if men are obsessed with women:

زُيِّن لِلنَّاس حُبّ الشَّھَوات مِن النَّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِيْنَ۔
Beautified for the people is the love of desirable things such as women and sons. (Qur’an: 3: 14)

In this way, there is a huge difference between the nature of man and woman. This is the reason why men are more important than women socially. Firstly, men are physically and biologically strong and powerful. Sexually he cannot control his emotions, but he is extremely impatient and then socially he not only seeks the woman, but he brings her to his home in order to set up his own house.

The philosophy of the dower
For this reason, it is the duty of a man to spend money on the occasion of marriage in Islam. This is a natural and reasonable code. On the contrary, the woman is physically weak and fragile. She is also sexually tolerant and lenient. And the greatest weapon that has been given to her is her beauty and attraction, so that she can appease the man and incline him towards her. Then, as the woman is subordinate to the man and comes under his influence socially and culturally, Islam has not burdened her with the costs of marriage. On the contrary, the woman is paid by the man at or after the marriage, which is called mahr. Mahr is a reasonable compensation to get benefitted from woman which has been declared by the Shariah as a very essential condition.

The summary is that a woman is weak not only physical and biologically, but she is also dependent on her husband after marriage. And then her children are attributed to their father instead of being attributed to her, as if a woman has to lay everything. For this reason Islam has declared that men should give a reasonable amount of money or any valuable to her at the time of marriage. So that the woman gets some reward for her rightful service. In this way, it is not only a valid law, but it is also a Shari’ah declaration of the woman’s weakness.***