COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE RIGHTS OF MARRIED COUPLE

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON THE RIGHTS OF MARRIED COUPLE
UNDER ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW
By:
Md Zawawi Bin Abu Bakar1
Dr. Wan Ab Rahman Khudzri Bin Wan Abdullah2

Abstract

Marriage is a form of contract between a man and a woman in which derives certain rights and responsibilities. Negligence of these rights and responsibilities would certainly create crisis and eventually lead to divorce. Hence, a research was conducted to identify and compare the rights of spouses in an Islamic marriage. The researcher had analyzed the rights of spouses under the Islamic Family Law. Results showed that the spouses’ rights can be divided into three parts; before a marriage, during a marriage and after a divorce. Analysis conducted on the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) 1984, showed that wives were granted with more rights than husbands. Other than that, research findings also had identified several rights that were not part of Syariah Law but enacted under the Islamic Family Law. Comparatives analyses conducted found that there were similarities and differences of spouses’ right under the Islamic Family Law. The research concluded that Islam has placed equality of rights on both husband and wife in order to uphold the sanctity of matrimony. Therefore, spouses must understand their responsibilities and perform the respective rights according to Syariah.

Introduction

Family Law is legislated to safeguard individuals’ rights regardless of gender, family background, status, skin color and etc (Abdul Jalil Borhan, 1998). Justice is the core of any law especially in the Islamic Family Law (IFL). It is enacted based on the Islamic Syariah. Allah SWT says:

Then We put thee on the (right) Way of Religion: so follow thou that (Way), and follow not the desires of those who know not. (al-Quran, al-Jathiyah, 45:18)

The verse above explains that the Islamic Law or Syariah is a complete divine revelation. In the context of the legislated Islamic Family Law (IFL), it is just if its execution fulfills the requirement of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah which is against discrimination of gender, heredity, skin color or status.

Every individual, men and women, are granted rights and it is a trust or amanah to be carried out to the rightful owners. Allah says:

“Allah doth command you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due; And when ye judge between man and man, that ye judge with justice: Verily how excellent is the teaching which He giveth you! For Allah is He Who heareth and seeth all things.” (al-Quran, al-Nisa’, 4: 58)

There is much evidence regarding denial of rights between spouses that cause quarrel which eventually lead to divorce. According Mohammed Yussof Hussein, a research conducted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia showed that the main factors that lead to divorce were irresponsible attitude (21%), irreconcilable differences (19.23%) and drug abused (13.77%). Other causes of divorce


http://www.cob.uum.edu.my/amgbe/files/088%20F-%20Md%20Zawawi%20and%20Dr%20Wan%20Full%20Paper%20COMPARATIVE%20ANALYSIS.pdf