پاکستانی معاشرے میں خاندانی نظام کے مسائل اور اسلامی نظریۂ حیات اورتدارک

Family System in Pakistani Society: Problems and Their Remedial Measures in the Light of the Islamic Worldview

Abstract

individual develops moral values, emotional attitudes, interpersonal behaviour and a sense of responsibility. In Pakistani society, the family has traditionally played a central role in providing social protection, maintaining religious and cultural values, and transmitting moral traditions from one generation to another. However, contemporary social changes have significantly affected the structure and functioning of the Pakistani family. Economic pressures, unemployment, changing lifestyles, urbanization, excessive involvement of extended family members, marital conflicts, divorce, weakening of intergenerational relationships, inadequate upbringing of children, neglect of elderly parents, violation of women's rights and irresponsible use of social media have created serious challenges to family stability.

This research examines these challenges in the context of the Islamic worldview. The study is qualitative and analytical in nature and draws upon the Qur’an, Sunnah, classical Islamic sources and contemporary academic research concerning the Pakistani family system. The research argues that Islam does not restrict family life to a set of legal regulations; rather, it establishes an ethical framework based on tranquillity, affection, mercy, justice, mutual consultation, responsibility and respect for human dignity. The Qur’anic concept of marriage as a source of tranquillity and mercy provides a fundamental basis for understanding the relationship between husband and wife. Similarly, Islamic teachings concerning parents, children, inheritance, financial responsibility, reconciliation and kinship provide a comprehensive framework for strengthening family relations.

The study further observes that neither the joint family nor the separate family structure can be regarded as universally ideal. The real criterion is whether the rights and responsibilities of family members are protected and whether the arrangement promotes justice, privacy, mutual respect and social cooperation. The research concludes that the stability of the Pakistani family requires not merely the preservation of traditional forms but the revival of the moral principles that give those forms their real value. Justice without compassion, authority without responsibility and rights without duties cannot produce a stable family. The Islamic worldview offers a balanced approach in which individual rights are harmonized with collective responsibilities, making it relevant to the contemporary challenges faced by Pakistani families.