The illustration below will help couples better conceptualize
the Islamic Family House and its practice, and to build and
strengthen their marriages.
SESSION OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session, participants should be able to:
• Understand the definition of marriage according to Islam
• Identify the importance of marriage
• List different parts of the Islamic Family House
• Distinguish between a physical house and a marriage house.
One of the first things you will need to do as a married couple is to build an Islamic family house. We should know that a house is a blessing from Allah the Exalted. “It is Allah Who made your habitations homes of rest and quiet for you; and made for you,...” [Quran 16:80]
This house may be made of bricks, stone, cement or mud. The roof may be made of tiles, iron sheets or grass thatch. As you build this house, you will want to make it special. With time, we hope the house will become a home with children and fond memories of your shared life together.
FACILITATOR’S NOTE: The parts of the house, including the foundation, pillars, walls, windows and roof should come up in the answers. If they don’t, the facilitators should probe further—for example, by asking the class to name the different components of a house.Keeping in mind the comparison of a physical house with a marriage house, we will examine each component of the house and how it is to be constructed in accordance with Allah’s plan.
THE ISLAMIC FAMILY HOUSE
Although we often think and plan in great detail about the physical house we will live in, we may neglect something far more important—the kind of marriage house we will build. In building a marriage house, we have to prepare, plan, and work together just as we have to prepare, plan and work together to build a physical house. As we build our marriage house, we have to consider very important questions:
• What is the importance of a physical house?
• What are the different features of a marriage house?
Just as it is important that we construct our physical houses well, it is important that we construct our marriage houses well. A well-constructed marriage house will enable our marriages to be strong and our families to flourish.