ABSTRACT
Maulana Ihtisham-ul-Haq thus forcefully expressed his dissent from the proposals of his colleagues on a Commission set up in 1955 in Pakistan to consider possible reform of the traditional Islamic law of the family and particularly of the position of women. A brief account of the contemporary state of Islamic law will serve to explain this. The twin pillars of patriarchy—polygamy and unilateral repudiation by the husband—had been the unshakeable supports of the structure of Islamic family law for more than thirteen centuries. Divergence of doctrine is an outstanding characteristic of Sharfi’a law and one inherent in its very nature. The Syrian Law of Personal Status, 1953, required the consent of the court for a second marriage, and such consent was only to be given where the husband could establish his financial ability to support his co-wives adequately. In short, therefore, the Ordinance continues the particular tradition of Anglo-Muhammadan law.
