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In GOD’s Name, All Merciful All Loving
Family and Household in Early IslamKARIM Douglas CROW – IAIS
December 2010
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Kita>>b al-‛Iya>>l / ON THE FAMILY•
Compiled in Baghdad in the mid–3rd / 9th century by•
Abu>> Bakr Ibn Abi> l-Dunya>
« ‛AbdAlla>h ibn Muh}ammad ibn ‛Ubayd »
(d. 281 H / 894 CE)•
Abu>> Bakr Ibn Abi> l-Dunya – d. 894 Great Baghdadi Scholar of 3rd / 9th century – versed in Adab
Personal Tutor to Young Princes of ‛ABBASID Caliphal Dynasty :
al-Mu‛tad}id (rgn. 279—289) & his son ‛Ali> (=al-Muktafi>, rgn. 289—295)
Compiled over Two Hundred Books, was an expert Traditionist
of H{adi>th methodology – pupil of Ah}mad Ibn H{anbal.
Educationalist Noted for Deep Interest in Ethical & Ascetic Topics
ca. Twenty-Five Books published today, including –
al-Zuhd / Renunciation, al-‛Aql / Intelligence, al-Awliya> ’ / God’s Friends,
al-S{amt wa a>da>b al-Lisa>n / Silence & Training the Tongue, Maka>rim al-Akhla>q .
Kita>>b al-‛Iya>>l exists in a unique 11th cent. manuscript at Baghdad University, now in
an excellent edition by Najm ‛Abd al-Rah}ma>n Khalaf ( Da>r Ibn al-Qayyim 1990; 1032 pp.)
Muslim Interest in Family & Household evidenced in major H{adi>th collections:
in Bukha>ri>’s al-Ja>mi‛ – chapters on al-adab, al-fad}a>’il, al-sala>m, al-liba>s, & in hisseparate al-Adab al-Mufrad. / Later ,T{abara>ni>’s Mu‛jam al-Kabi>r, and Haythami>,
Majma‛ al-Zawa>’id. . . . Also in numerous legal and medical writings . . .
Yet Kita>>b al-‛Iya>>l is the earliest known writing devoted solely to this topic.
Later writings (now published) focus on particular legal or health aspects, e.g. :
Ibn al-Jazza>r al-T{abi>b, Siya>sat al-S{ibya>n /Grooming of Youth, treats Health
aspects of young male children (ed. M. al-H{abi>b al-Hi>lah, Beirut n.d.).
Baqi> ibn Makhlad al-Dawri> (ca. 4th cent. H), Ikhba>r al-S{ibya>n fi> ma> yastadillu bi-hi
‛ala> Rushd al-Ghula>m, treats young boys & signs of their coming-of-age at puberty.
Muh}ammad al-Astaru>shani> (d. 632 H), Ah}ka>m al-S{igha>r /Legal Rulings for Minors.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Tuh}fat al-Wudu>d bi-Ah}ka>m al-Mawlu >d /Gift of Love
on Rulings for Infants, treats the legal and ethical questions concerning newborns.
Also the comprehensive contemporary work on children and the family by Shaykh
‛AbdAlla>h ‛Ulwa>n, Tarbiyat al-Awla>d fi> l-Isla>m /Upbringing of Children in Islam
[who unfortunately fails to provide references to the classical sources he employed].
Kita>>b al-‛Iya>>l ~ On the Family
674 Reports, arranged in Thirty-Five Chapters . . . yet incomplete.
These Narrations comprise: Prophetic H{adi>ths, Poetic Verses,
Utterances of Companions & Successors (aqwa>l ), and
Incidents in the lives of Leading Personalities.
Thirty-Five Chapters on : Household Economy & Income,
Family Relations, Marriage, Love & Support of Children,
Attitudes toward Sons & Daughters, Child Rearing,
Education and Moral Training, Disciplining,
Legal-Religious Issues of Children.
Displays deep Ethical Concern for an attitude of
Loving Caring in the Family.
Offers significant insights into the Islamic Ideal of
the Household.
Kita>>b al-‛Iya>>l ~ ON THE FAMILY
Thirty-Five Chapters
1. Expenditure on the Family & merit of
Spending /nafaqah on them
2. Being Just between children and treating
them equally
3. A Newborn’s ritual hair-cutting /‛aqi>qah &
what is performed at birth
4. Performing the best deeds /ih}sa>n
toward one’s Daughters
5. Arranging the marriage of one’s
Daughters
ON THE FAMILY
6.Affection /‛at}f toward one’s children
and Loving them /mah}abbah
7. Kindliness /ra’fah toward Babies
and tender sympathy for them
8. Holding Babies, smelling them and
kissing them
9. Rocking one’s Babies and playing
with them
10. Greeting young Children
11. Teaching the ritual-Prayer to Children
12. Teaching the Qur’ān to small Children
ON THE FAMILY
13. A man Teaches his wife, and
Teaches his children and Trains them
14. How GOD Safeguards the man-of-
faith among his progeny after he dies
15. Generous liberality towards one’s
Dependants / al-‛iya>l
16. Intercourse with one’s Wife is like
unto charitable-alms, and coition is for
the sake of procreating children
17. Encouraging Women to work by spinning wool
18. Guarding the Woman in her home, her
adornment is only for her husband
19. Funeral prayer over the still-born infant
20. Uprightness /s}ala>h} of the child [warms one’s heart
21. Taking delight in the small number of one’s
Dependants
22. Affection toward one’s Wives, kindliness to
them, and sociability with one’s womenfolk
23. Rights of the Wife over her husband and
the merit of spending on her support
24. What belongs to the Wife which she may take
from her husband’s home
25. Rights of the Husband over his wife
26. A Man jests and sports with his Wife
ON THE FAMILY
27. Circumcision of Infants
28. Allowing Children to play and amuse themselves
29. Teaching knowledge to young Children [& orphans]
30. Disciplining of Orphans [yet the female child should
not be struck]
31. Training Orphans in Good Manners
32. Testimony of Orphans is accepted legally
33. Young Boys may perform Pilgrimage with a parent
[save for prayers]
34. Children may wear protective charms [Qur’ānic
verses] to safeguard against misfortune
35. Urine of a suckling male infant is not defiling [may
easily be cleansed with water] .
Chief Features of ~ On the Family
Conception of ‘Family’ is Wider and more
inclusive than today, reflects Social Structure of
Muslim culture more than a millennium ago.
Arabic terms ‛a>>>'ilah and ‛ayyil :: Family, Household
/ Plural is ‛iya>l :: ‘ Dependants / Wives & Children ’.
Participles: ‛a>'il & mu‛i>l :: ‘Family Provider,
Sustainer’ = Breadwinner.
The Institution of the Family In the Past
Embraced the widest range of persons, including
Servants, Clients, and extended blood-Kin.
Significant Principles Of Family for Today
Extending the Boundaries of ‘Family’ to embrace Neighborhood & Community ?
Learning to Take Interest in the Rights and
the Duties of each part of our Families
Injecting more Responsible Moral and Compassionate Mindset into Family issues
CARING and LOVE ?
Private & Public Spheres for
Communal Integration Of the Family
Understanding the Intimate or Personalin terms of Consequences for Community
Ensuring Public Awareness & Concern for Difficulties facing the nuclear family
Holding Up Effective Models of Behavior
More Public Support needed for problems
of Youth & Children outside the family
