Ibn Sīnā’s View on the Model of an Ideal Family and its Assessment through Islamic and Feminist Perspectives

Abstract

The relationship between family and household management has always been one of the most significant issues for philosophers within the area of practical wisdom. By referring to the opinions of philosophers related to this area, many gaps that exist in the theories of household management and family policy-making will be filled. One of the philosophers who has extensively dealt with the issues of family and household management is the famous and influential Muslim philosopher, Ibn Sīnā. In the present article, the author has tried to review Ibn Sīnā's opinions on the ideal family and then assess it through Islamic and feminist doctrines. The method used in this study was literature analysis. In this research, Ibn Sīnā's example of an ideal family is explained in the following five areas: 1. marriage and divorce, 2. hierarchy of authority in the family, 3. reciprocal responsibilities between the spouses, 4. gender-based division of labor and 5. the household aspect. Thereafter, each of the above areas was comparatively assessed according to Islamic doctrines. The findings of this study suggest that Ibn Sīnā's opinion bears many similarities to the Islamic model of an ideal family, while, in contrast, it seriously opposed feminist approaches to family.