PMS 2019 Solved Islamiat Past Papers | Islamic social system Different from Western Social System
The following question of PMS Islamiat 2019 is solved by Miss Ayesha Irfan, the highest scorer in CSS Islamiat. Moreover, the question is attempted using the same pattern taught by Sir Syed Kazim Ali to his students, who have scored the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question Breakdown
Regarding this specific question, the examiner inquired about how the Islamic social system differed from the Western social system, specifically about the family system and the status of women. The question is addressed in two parts. The first is an outline, which is broken down into different parts. The introduction is given, followed by the Islamic social system, which is different from the Western social system, specifically about the family system and the status of women, and the conclusion.
Outline
1-Introduction
2- Debunking the concept of social system
3- How is the Islamic social system different from the Western social system, specifically about the family system?
A-Islamic Social system
- ✓Islamic concept of extended family
- ✓Islamic concept of ‘Perda’ in family
- ✓Islamic concept of dignity in family relations
B-Western Social system
- ✓Nuclear family in the Western social system
- ✓Liberal family concept of the Western system
- ✓Western concept of individualism
4- How is the Islamic social system different from the Western social system, specifically about the status of women?
A-Status of women in Islam
- ✓Islam dignifies the status of women (mother, sister, wife, daughter)
- ✓ The Islamic concept of paternal hierarchy strictly uplifts the status of a mother
- ✓Islamic society gave specific economic and social rights to women
B-Status of women in Western society
- ✓Western equality system, which sabotaged the dignity of women
- ✓Status of Parents in Western society
- ✓Western society’s so-called feminist narrative
5- Critical analysis
6- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Islam’s social structure is founded on moral principles and forbids individual supremacy over society, social caste, and class struggle. However, the Islamic social structure upholds the family, bringing society together and guaranteeing that no one’s rights are violated. Islam also supports women’s status by ensuring their rights and independence. Allah Almighty stated in the Holy Quran (49:13): “O humanity! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other; Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you.” Conversely, the individualistic foundation of Western society supports freedom, self-expression, and individual rights. Westernization leads to modernization that promotes feminism and challenges traditional communities. The foundations of such civilizations progressively deteriorate, resulting in further harm. Consequently, the world needs a comprehensive Islamic social system founded on divine law to protect against evil and preserve moral values.
Debunking the concept of social system
The term “social system” describes an orderly organization and the relationships between its components. Each component in the arrangement has a specific location and function. Interaction binds the elements together. Thus, a system denotes a structured link between the functional relations that make up a structure’s constituent pieces active and bind them to reality. Nonetheless, it comprises how people interact with one another and the structure created by their relationships. Lapierre states, “society refers to the complex pattern of the norms of interaction that arise among and between them, rather than a group of people.” Thus, the social system is made up of the patterned interaction of visual actors whose relationships are mutually oriented through the establishment of the pattern of shared and organized symbols and expectations.
How is the Islamic social system different from the Western social system, specifically about the family system?
The Islamic social system places a strong emphasis on the family as the cornerstone of society, with strict rules regarding marriage, premarital relationships, and gender roles. These rules are based on religious principles and are intended to promote stability and morality within the family structure, in contrast to the Western social system, which frequently emphasizes individual autonomy and can be more flexible regarding family structures.
Islam and Islamic values now have a level of immunity from comment and criticism in the Western world that Christianity has lost and Judaism has never had. (Bernard Lewis)
A-Islamic Social system
- The Islamic concept of nikah
The Islamic concept of nikah is the cornerstone of a stable family. A sacred covenant is established between a man and a woman through the spiritual and legally binding nikah. It is regarded as an essential tenet of Islam and a prerequisite for social harmony. It represents how the Islamic family structure is secretive. For instance, O humanity, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah and the wombs through whom you ask one another. Indeed, Allah is ever, over you, an Observer (Nisa:1). In addition, nikah offers a structure for carrying out the responsibilities and rights of both spouses. Additionally, it serves to protect people from sin and immoral behaviour. Therefore, in Islamic society, nikah represents the position of the family and recognizes the equality and dignity of women.
- Islamic concept of ‘Perda’ in family
Islamic Perda is a comprehensive system that safeguards the family and blocks the paths that lead to indiscriminate contact or even illegal intimacy. Islam has greatly emphasised the idea of decency and modesty in interactions between people of different sexes within and outside of the family. For example, Allah SWT commands Prophet Muhammad PBUH to do the following, “O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers that they should let down upon themselves their jalabib” (Al-Quran 33:59). Thus, relationships within the family, among all of its members, and most significantly, between a husband and wife, are more than just practical ones. It is a spiritual relationship that fosters and produces selflessness, love, compassion, kindness, mercy, mutual trust, consolation, and support.
- Islamic concept of dignity in family relations
The foundation of the Islamic understanding of dignity in family relationships is the conviction that every individual possesses intrinsic value and dignity, irrespective of their social standing, religious affiliation, or behaviour. The Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad’s Hadith both mention this idea. According to Sahi Muslim, Narrated by Abu Mas’ud Al-Ansari, The Prophet said, “When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to receive Allah’s reward, it is regarded as Sadaqa for him.” Furthermore, Elderly family members should be respected and handled with dignity. Well-off family members are also expected to assist their spouses’ poor relatives, and orphans should be regarded as their children.
B-Western Social system
- The nuclear family in the Western social system
Contrarily to the Islamic family system, Western thought has compelled individuals to embrace the nuclear family paradigm at the moment. Each nuclear family member is solely accountable for his or her direct dependents. The family does not own his income; he does. Members of nuclear families are independent of other family members. For instance, Estimates indicate that over 70% of couples in the West, especially in the US, live together before marriage. The ideas of patchwork constellations, single parents, rainbow families, co-parenting, adoption, surrogacy, and childless unions undermined the family’s dignity and destroyed its secrecy.
- Liberal family concept of the Western system
The Western system’s liberal family paradigm values equality and individual freedom. Additionally, it endorses the concept of constitutionally limited government and acknowledges the significance of associated principles, including autonomy, consent, pluralism, tolerance, and physical security. In 2019, more than 17,000 births took place in the United States through surrogacy. The Guttmacher Institute reported that there were more than 1 million abortions in the US in 2023, which is the highest rate in over a decade. Therefore, the secretness of the family system has deteriorated because of liberal Western concepts in families.
- Western concept of individualism
The term “individualism” in the West refers to a cultural emphasis on the individual’s autonomy, independence, and personal accomplishment without any merits. In contrast to collectivist cultures, which place more importance on the group’s needs, individuals are seen as primarily responsible for their own lives and choices, with a strong emphasis on self-reliance and self-expression. For instance, with 11% apiece, the Philippines, the US, and Israel had the highest percentages of individuals who identified as LGBT+. Furthermore, 7.6% of US adults identified as LGBT (lesbian, gay, or transgender) in 2023. These ideas drastically destroy the family system’s honour in any community.
How is the Islamic social system different from the Western social system, specifically in terms of the status of women?
A-Status of women in Islam
“And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them, and men are a degree above them”. (2:228)
- Islam dignifies the status of women (mother, sister, wife, daughter)
Islam emphasizes that women deserve love, compassion, and kindness and treats them with respect as mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters. The woman is suggested before the man. It considers a woman’s love to be an indication of faith. However, it even elevates this adoration of women to the level of “prophetic conduct,” viewing them as trustees who guard a person’s fortune, faith, and secrets. For instance, He (PBUH) told the Muslims: “Fear Allah in respect of women. The best of you are they who behave best to their wives.” Moreover, “A Muslim must not hate his wife, and if he is displeased with one bad quality in her, let him be pleased with one that is good.”. Thus, Islam signifies the status of women in every sphere of life.
- The Islamic concept of paternal hierarchy strictly uplifts the status of a mother.
Unlike in other religions, mothers are revered and seen as having a higher rank in Islam. Numerous verses in the Quran emphasize the value of mothers in Muslim cultures. “And We have enjoined man concerning his parents – His mother bears him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years – Be grateful to Me and to your parents. To Me is the eventual coming” (Surah Luqman 31:14). Islam teaches that Muslims can enter Paradise by treating their mothers well and that Paradise is at their feet. As a result, mothers are highly valued in Islamic society.
- Islamic society gave specific economic and social rights to women.
The most significant element of Islamic women’s economic empowerment is that it acknowledges their distinct and autonomous identities and grants them a plethora of economic rights, including the ability to own property, divide an inheritance, and participate in a variety of economic endeavours to boost their wealth. Surah an-Nisa, 4:4 of the Quran, states, “Give women their due dowries graciously. But if they waive some of it willingly, then you may enjoy it freely with a clear conscience”. As a result, the general idea of division of labour governs their economic duties in Islam. Their inherent comparative advantages serve as the foundation for this division of labour. Women must take care of the affairs within the home, while men must handle the affairs outside. Everyone is responsible within their own domain.
B-Status of women in Western society
- Western equality system, which sabotaged the dignity of women
Women’s dignity is undermined by the Western egalitarian system, which is frequently defined by the advancement of liberal feminist ideas, particularly in more marginalized circumstances. The concept of equality comprises respect and dignity, depending on gender. Even during pregnancy, women in the West complete all their tasks by themselves, according to recent figures. Because of the strain of duty, estimates of pregnant women’s employment rates often range from 70% to 80%. Consequently, the idea of equality eroded the special status that Islam granted to women.
- status of a mother in Western society
The idea of motherhood without marriage severely degrades mothers’ standing in Western societies because of the skewed family structure. Even though there are usually legal safeguards and support networks in place, single mothers in the West frequently struggle to balance employment and childcare, and their rates of poverty may be higher than those of two-parent households. For instance, research indicates that single moms in Western nations frequently face a substantial economic disparity when compared to mothers in partnerships; the average income penalty varies by country and can range from 30% to 50%.
- Western society’s so-called feminist narrative
In Western civilization, the feminist narrative strongly emphasises women’s quest for complete social, economic, and political equality. In the real world, the West itself weakens women’s status. Since there has never been a female president in US history, the West’s so-called narrative is dead and meaningless. Bias against female presidential candidates is widespread. According to a 2017 research, roughly 13% of Americans said they were “angry or upset” about the prospect of a female president. That same year, political scientists Yoshikuni Ono and Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin in Madison experimented with hypothetical political candidates. They discovered that voters penalize female presidential candidates by 2.4 percentage points.
Critical Analysis
The Islamic and Western social systems differ significantly, especially regarding the status of women and the family structure. The total independence of all people in the West in the current day disregards women’s vulnerability. The world urgently needs a logical and balanced social structure for civilisation to advance. Since Western law is a creation of human whims and desires, it cannot serve as a long-term framework for controlling behaviour. As a result, the West’s liberal ideas and so-called equality severely damage society. This is clearly stated in the Quran (3:104), “Let there be a community among you, advocating what is good, demanding what is right and eradicating what is wrong. They are indeed successful”. Thus, it fosters the growth of a respectable society with strong moral convictions, a high degree of ethical awareness, and a purposeful orientation to all human behaviour.
Conclusion
Islamic society is a model society because it adopts a balanced approach to its framework of social connections, setting the highest standards for behaviour. Its historical purpose is to show how to live a moral life on a personal and societal level. Islam promotes human togetherness, equality before God, and a balanced family structure. Islamic society promises women independence and a respectable position in society. The guiding concepts needed to create and fortify the family are absent from Western culture. The concepts and ideas that seem valuable in and of themselves were adopted as societal norms. Individual limitations of all kinds were eliminated, and men were freed from familial obligations.
“We must work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on the true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice. We will thereby be fulfilling our mission as Muslims and giving to humanity the message of peace, which alone can save it and secure the welfare, happiness and prosperity of humanity.” Muhammad Ali Jinnah
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