Abstract: The main aim of this article is to discuss the concept of family and its values and its place and role as a multi-dimensional institution from the Islamic perspective. The author seeks to show that the Islamic family institution as envisaged by the Qur’ān and as practised by Muslims throughout the history of Islam is at once a religious, an educational, and a socio-economic institution. The family is first of all a religious institution since it is based on the principle of sacred marriage and it exists to serve as an instrument to help man realise the twin goals of his existence in accordance with God’s cosmic plan. The twin goals in question are of servitude (ʿubūdiyyah) and vicegerency (khilāfah) and equivalently of man’s perfect relationship with God (hablun min Allāh) and man’s perfect relationship with fellow men (hablun min al-nās). The author then discusses the role of the family as an educational institution in the sense of it being the first school for its children-dependants where basic religious and ‘secular’ knowledge are both provided. Next to be discussed is the family’s role as a socio-economic institution with particular emphasis on household governance and economic health. This article emphasises the view that societal health, particularly its economic dimension, presupposes family health. A crisis in the family institution can have grave consequences on the well-being of society as a whole. Finally, the author discusses the challenges faced by the family institution in the twenty-first century and presents several recommendations on what needs to be done in response to these challenges.

Abstract: This article features with a general characterisation of the Qur’ān with reference to family law and gender equity. Its main purpose is to visualise the broader picture of qur’ānic dispensations and the manner they are manifested in
the sharīʿah. A brief outline of the higher objectives (maqāsid) on family welfare and reproductive health is also discussed.
 

Abstract: Islam emphasises the belief that the family is the cornerstone of human civilisation. This article explains that Islamic teachings regarding family structure are unique in providing theoretical and practical answers to modern challenges and have the ability to reform any deviation. Furthermore, it constructs, from the study of the Qur’ān and the prophetic applications, a model for gender equality and harmonious family relations. The methodology of this article is based on conducting a textual analysis of relevant qur’ānic concepts and Prophetic applications. It is my hope that having this understanding may show the way towards realising the significance of enforcing gender equity in order to establish healthy and peaceful human relations,
especially among family members, which in turn will lead to generating a peaceful human culture and society in our modern time.
 

Abstract: The number of youths involved in crime and who show disregard for law and order is on the rise. What is more disturbing is the rise of violent crimes committed by them. The author argues that these concerns need to be addressed
seriously. Pertinent questions need to be answered to understand the underlying reasons. This article is divided into three parts: the first part defines dysfunctional families and their relationship with crime and some home-truths relating to them.
The second emphasises the importance of knowledge and the inculcation of good values to individuals through the family. In the final part some recommendations are made.
 

Abstract: Over the last four decades the labour-force participation rate of women in Southeast Asia has been steadily increasing. While gender relations are changing in the public sphere as more women play dominant roles in the employment sector, whether gender relations in the domestic sphere are changing is rather ambiguous. In this article, the author looks at gender relations in Singapore Malay dual-income households. She shows that there are existing cultural perceptions of Malays regarding the roles of women and men in the family: i.e. women see to care-giving and men see to breadwinning. She also argues that parallels of this perception can be found at the state level as well. The Singapore government too is of the view that the primary caregiver in the family is the woman. The author illustrates this by using the example of the discourse on the ‘supermom’ in Singapore to show the government’s expectations of women’s role as mother. There is external support which makes Malay women affirm their maternal role. In conclusion, the author suggests that Malay women’s and men’s decisions around the division of labour must be conceived within the wider framework of society. Explanations for persistence of unequal division of labour in Malay dual-income households must take into account state views of gender roles.

Abstract: This article emphasises the development of the Muslim women’s movement in Turkey. It traces the historical roots of this movement as well as its evolution towards two different understandings of women. It is clearly seen that
there exist two main approaches to the role of women among Islamic groups: while the traditional Islamic understanding strives to maintain women’s traditional roles notwithstanding that it advocates the right to benefit from modern education,
another understanding challenges this and tries to ensure women’s existence on a ‘womanly’ base in the public life. The author attempts also to depict the story of how Muslim women have attempted to be articulated in the public sphere, their
50-year struggle to achieve that goal, as well as the discourses, values and symbols that have generally been centred on the ‘headscarf debates’.
 

Abstract: This article is an attempt to compare the teachings of Confucius and Islam, specifically The Four Books, which are authoritative works on Confucius, and the original sources of Islam, Qur’ān and Sunnah. The Four Books are the most
quoted sources of Confucius’ thought, namely The Great Learning (Da Xue 大学), The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong 中庸), The Confucian Analects (Lun Yu 论) and The Works of Mencius (Mengzi 孟子). The focus shall be on the concept of
family and filial piety as found in Confucianism and Qur’ān and Sunnah. Both the teachings of Confucius and Islam emphasise the importance of virtues, ties and order in the family system, for example, the husband is the head of the family
and responsible for the family’s existence and security. Islam and Confucianism are both patriarchal, and the husband and men are protectors of the family and deserve much respect. Young members of the family must respect and obey the
elders and vice versa. To Confucius, these virtues are the heavenly way and must be cultivated and developed accordingly as li (礼) or good manners from an early age. The young and old must be treated according to their age. Similar values are also upheld in Islam. However, there are also differences between the two approaches which shall be highlighted as well.

A distinctive characteristic of Muslims is the exchange of greetings saluting one another with al-salāmu ʿalaykum!– along with the response …wa ʿalaykum al-salām!This is usually translated as “peace be upon you!” and “and upon you peace!” (This is a shortened form of the fuller phrase; see below.) Here salām is normally understood today as ‘peace’, while its sense might better be rendered: ‘greetings of security-peace’. This greeting is known as taḥiyyat al-islām, ‘the
salutation of Islam’, and conveys wishing for the other person that God grant them a long successful life of peace secure from harm. When the Prophet’s paternal cousin Jaʿfar b. Abī Ṭālib in 615 (seven years before the migration of the Prophet
to Medina in 622) described the essence of Islamic guidance to the Ethiopian Emperor, the ‘Negus’ (al-Najāshī) of Islamic literature, at his court in Axum, Jaʿfar emphasised this ‘salutation of Islam’ as a new practice specific to their religion.
A closer examination of this important phrase frequently expressed on the lips of Muslims, discloses how inseparable the conceptions of security and peace truly are in Islamic experience.