Islam's Reformers .pdf

conscience, for ta’addud az-zawjat is what Allâhu ta’âlâ, whomshe loves more than her life, permits.In order to prevent these harms, Islam expects from womenthis self-sacrifice, which will be rewarded in the Hereafter.Thereby they will contribute to the population increase and helpother members of their sex to find a husband. If women bebrought up with this sacred, religious education, the uses ofwhich are obvious, the side-effects of ta’addud az-zawjât, whichare only to emotions and to the nafs, will disappear. Theprogressives claim that they are determined to make progressby enduring all kinds of difficulty. While the man is ready to diein war, should not he expect an insignificant self-sacrifice fromhis wife, since it will rescue the individual, the family and theentire society from a great disaster? Would not it be good if she,instead of having the baseness of ignoring her husband’shabitual, evil, harmful deeds, accustom herself to a useful,noble feeling? They will be helpful to men in their struggles toprotect their chastity, and at the same time pay their religiousdebts in return for men’s sacrifice in warfare.In the time of the Union Party, Mensûrî Zâde Saîd, thedeputy of Manisa, offered the National Assembly to pass a lawto prohibit ta’addud az-zawjât. The majority of deputies said itwas impossible. The law was not passed. As for the questionwhat Muslims should do in a country where such a law is inoperation, Muslims do not violate the laws even if they are in acountry of disbelievers. They do not commit any crime. Each ofthem live with one woman with whom they marry according toIslam and to the laws, with nikâh and a formal registration.Opposing the laws and the government gives way topunishment, trouble and fitna (mischief against Muslims.), whichis not permissible. It is declared in the Hadîth, “Fitna is asleep.May Allâhu ta’âlâ damn him who wakes it.” May Allâhu ta’âlâprotect Muslims against fitna and calamities! Âmin.In the Ottoman Empire, marriage contracts were registeredat municipalities or marriage offices, where marriage licenceswere obtained, and canonical marriage contract (nikâh) wasperformed compatibly with its principles by a pious Muslim whoknew the religious knowledge of his madhhab correctly andperformed salât regularly. The quantity of gold money which iscalled mahr-i mu’ajjal or mahr-i muejjel and upon which thecouple agreed was recorded in the licence during the- 126 -