The Grand Imam in the fifth episode of his Ramadan Program broadcast on Egyptian TV: The ultimate objective in Islam is respect for humans and care for their interest
The Grand Imam:
- “The wife's seeking her husband's permission when going out of the house is a necessity for family stability”
- “It’s not the husband’s right to prevent his wife from visiting her parents”
His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Prof Ahmed Aṭ-Ṭayyeb, said that it is incorrect to deem the husband's required permission for his wife when going out of the house as a type of domineering, since it is a necessity for the stability of the family and its cohesion. When a wife seeks her husband’s permission upon going out of the house, she observes his right to know where she will go, and whether this is appropriate or not. It is the right of the husband that should be accepted by the wife. There are certain exceptions in this case, among which is the wife's going out of her house to visit her parents, which is her legitimate right. If her parents are sick, visiting them is not just a right, but it’s a duty, because this is a matter of honoring the parents.
The Imam added that one of the exceptions for the wife to leave the house without her husband’s permission is her going out to work, if he knows upon signing the marriage contract that she will go to work and acknowledges it. The wife then has the right to leave the house without waiting for her husband's permission. Yet, when things change and the wife's going out to work entails harm for the family, as in the case of having children, the husband has the right to order her not to leave without his permission, so that she can take care of the children. For in this case, the harm entailing her leaving the house is greater than the harm incurred when she stays at home. Hence, we have to sustain the lesser of the two evils, as agreed upon by most of modern jurists.
The Grand Imam explained the Islamic Shari`ah is entirely based on bringing about interest, but this is limited to legitimate interest, because certain types of interest are illegitimate, such as usury. It harms the society and therefore it is abandoned. He pointed out that the ultimate objective in Islam is to respect humans and maintain their interest. When four men killed a young child in Yemen; our master Omar ibn al-Khattab ordered the killing of them all. Some said to him “This is one child and these are four”. He replied: "If the people of Sana'a gathered in killing him, I would rule that they all be killed in return."
The Imam concluded the episode by saying that wife's obedience to her husband and seeking his permission should be understood in the context of the verses of the Qur’an and the Prophetic Hadiths that equate men and women in humanity and rights and duties. Almighty Allah says: “Whoever works righteousness - whether male or female - while he (or she) is a true believer, verily, to him We will give a good life, and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Women are indeed equal to men”. Therefore, husband-wife equality is an established principle in Islam and subsequent regulatory rulings should be understood in this context.
The Grand Imam's program is broadcast at 6:15 pm daily throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan. The program discusses a number of Muslim family issues, the rights recognized by Islam for husband and wife, and how to preserve the family entity as a basis for building a sound human community.