The family is the foundation of society, and from it stems new life and a thriving purpose to develop and achieve great things. It is the cornerstone of life and is humanity’s greatest social institution.
In Islam, marriage and the formation of a family is regarded as one of the most important objectives for a person to achieve. This importance is demonstrated through the judicial and moral teachings of Islam, which guide us through an array of family issues in order to cater for our spiritual and physical needs.
Today, we live in a world where secularism, individualism and materialism have been aggressively pushed at the human consciousness such that family values are being undermined and eroded. This has resulted in moral decay and other harmful outcomes that prevent the attainment of long-term happiness and stability. Although neglecting family values can allow for a short-lived material fulfilment for some people, the collective prosperity of society cannot be possible without special attention to the family.
This book is our humble contribution to this important subject. It is a collection of advice and antidotes provided by Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, a theologian, jurist and statesman who holds the post of being the foremost Islamic authority and head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Despite all his engagements, Ayatollah Khamenei often conducts the marriage ceremonies of newlyweds, and this book is a collection of some of his words of advice during those sessions.
This book was initially put together by the Sahba Institute in Iran and published in Farsi as a publication entitled ‘Khanevade’ meaning the Family. It is now available in English to share the Islamic teachings on this subject and to present them as an alternative way to attain happiness as opposed to the current material and secular ideas that are prevalent in our society.
Much thought went into the naming of this book as we felt the literal translation was not sufficient for its new English audience and after many brainstorming sessions we reached the name ‘The Compassionate Family’ which is inspired by the verse of the Holy Quran:
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“And of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find rest in them, and He put between you love and compassion; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect.” (Holy Quran 30:21)
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who helped in making this publication a reality and whilst we are only naming a few, there are many others who are unsung heros who assisted us with their time, efforts and donations. They remain the selfless and anonymous helpers whose reward is with God.
We would like to extend special appreciation to Alexander Khaleeli and Mona Makki for their excellent translation of the text, in addition to Rizwan Rashid and Hina Zehra Rizvi for editing and proofreading it.
We would also like to thank the honourable Shaykh Hamza Sodagar for his key role in making this publication happen.
Finally, we thank the Almighty God who blessed us with this opportunity to serve and ask that He accepts this little that we offer in His way.
Sayyid S. Al-Haidari
AIM Foundation
16th February 2017