Malala Bashing Is Easy, Protecting The Muslim Family Is Hard
By
Junaid Jahangir, New Age Islam
10 June
2021
Malala
Bashers Feel A Constant Existential Threat To Their Faith
Main
Points:
1. Pakistanis
rail against Malala on Nikah.
2. Protecting
the Islamic family institution is hard.
3. Malala
bashers should convert all their negative energies to positive contributions by
railing out against excessive and expensive Nikah rituals.
4. Nikah,
whether religious or civil, is nothing but a contract.
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Malala Yousafzai has graced the cover
of British Vogue's latest edition. (Source: Malala/Instagram)
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Malala
bashing happens sporadically. A lot of Chavli (nonsense) is hurled. Such
bashers feel a constant existential threat to their faith. They create a
senseless social media storm and then it’s back to business as usual until the
next round. It is not clear whether such people have anything positive to
contribute beyond Malala bashing. Of course, social media venting can be
cathartic, but the question is then what?
In the
latest round of the Pakistani favourite pastime of Malala bashing, an
existential threat was perceived against the institution of Nikah (marriage).
Malala’s personal comments to a British fashion magazine were made into a
religious edict. Suddenly, a woman reviled for being a western puppet was
treated as a role model for Pakistani girls and all hell was let loose.
However, it is not clear what exactly were those offended trying to achieve
beyond public masturbation.
Islam
restricts sexual relationships through a legal contract. The word Nikah itself
refers to coitus and the Mehr (dower price), according to Imam Shafi,
was the Thamam Al Bud (the vulva price), which was given to the woman in
exchange for exclusive sexual access to her private parts. The Hifz Furuj
(protection of the private parts) verses 23:5-6 restrict sexual access to wives
and concubines. While there was a limit of a maximum of four wives, there was
no limit to the number of concubines one could have. Indeed, the 17th century
Damascene jurist Haskafi stated:
“If a man has four free [wives] and a thousand
concubines and wants to buy another [concubine] and a man reproaches him for
that, it will be as if [the man] had committed unbelief.”
With the
dismantling of the institution of slavery and advent of the modern age, there
were reforms and marriage with minor girls, who just had their menstrual period
and therefore considered Baligh (post puberty), was eventually
prohibited. In Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi scholar Ibn al-Uthaymeen (d. 2001)
went against the Ijma (consensus) on the validity of forced marriages of
minor girls that was based on the Hadith pertaining to Aisha in Sahih Bukhari.
In Tunisia, reforms on marriage were introduced and Muslim women could marry
outside the faith. Based on Hanbali jurisprudence, women could stipulate
conditions in the Nikah contract against polygamy. Additionally, it is well
understood that parental consent is not required for Nikah as it is a contract
between two adults with witnesses.
All of this
allows us to question that when riled up Pakistanis rail against Malala on
Nikah, which version are they trying to defend? The one which allowed marriage
of minors, the one with unlimited concubines, the one with the vulva price, the
one without parental consent, the one with stipulations against polygamy or the
one which grants women autonomy to marry outside the faith?
There is a
wide spectrum on the understanding of Nikah here and this includes a
partnership. After all, Nikah, whether religious or civil, is nothing but a
contract. And a civil partnership, based on mutual consent, can be ethical just
as a religious contract like Halala, based on what could be termed
legalized prostitution, can be unethical.
This is
reminiscent of the Halal (permissible) versus ethical issue on mass
animal slaughter. Indeed, while someone can follow the technical rules of
cutting the jugular veins and reciting the Kalima (testimonial of faith)
to certify the meat as technically Halal, the way the poor animals are mistreated
in confined spaces and mass factory production systems, constitutes Zulm
(oppression) and renders the meat unethical.
Returning
to the concerns of Malala bashers, if they are really serious about protecting
Islamic institutions, then they should focus less on Malala’s interview to a
British fashion magazine and more on what Islamic system they want for
Pakistan. I hope most Pakistanis would reject the outdated Fiqh
(juristic) definitions of Mehr and marriages of minors. Additionally,
many women and men would reject polygamy, as they seek an equal Shareek e
Hayat (life partner), not a subordinate receptacle for sex, and given how
difficult it has become economically to raise a single family.
In fact,
Malala bashers should convert all their negative energies to positive
contributions by railing out against excessive and expensive Nikah rituals, by
pushing back against undue hardships that are placed on women expected to work
outside and at home, and by pushing back against corporatization that exploits
men who must work at least two jobs to raise their family on a meagre wage.
Additionally, they need to push back at the culture of dick pics brought by
social media and ensure that we do not raise youth with a supreme sense of self
entitlement where they treat other human beings as objects or commodities to be
had, used and disposed of.
But then
again, railing against Malala is easy. Actually protecting the Islamic family
institution is hard and demands consistent effort than once a while public jerk
off.
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Junaid
Jahangir is an Assistant Professor of Economics at MacEwan University. He is
the co-author of Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions. With Dr. Hussein
Abdullatif, a paediatric endocrinologist in Alabama, he has co-authored several
academic papers on the issue of same-sex unions in Islam. He contributed this
article to NewAgeIslam.com.
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