The Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islam (Kitab an-Nikah)

121 Pages·2007·0.571 MB·English

by  Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Muhtar Holland

Translator’s Introduction i
The Proper Conduct
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of Marriage in Islam
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[Adab an-Nikah]
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BOOK TWELVE OF IH.YA› ‹ULUM AD-DIN
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ii The Proper Conduct of Marriage
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Translator’s Introduction iii
The Proper Conduct
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of Marriage in Islam
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[Adab an-Nikah]
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BOOK TWELVE OF IH.YA› ‹ULUM AD-DIN
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. IMAM AL-GHAZALI
TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY MUHTAR HOLLAND
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AL-BAZ PUBLISHING, INC.
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA
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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: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
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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
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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!
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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
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