Family and Civilization Building
He believes that the cells that make the society are not individuals but families.
University scholar Meysam Sedaqatzadeh made the remarks in a meeting on reviewing Martyr Motahhri’s ideas about family.
Here are excerpts from his speech at the meeting:
When we talk about an entity called family, we mean the family from its establishment until the end. In elaborating on the characteristics of humans, Martyr Motahhari cites the Quran that says man has been created from clay. That is to say, creation of man is in the material world. Man begins life from the lowest rank in the creation and as he grows up physically, he also acquires human characteristics like intellect and willpower. So the different between humans and animals is that humans have intellect and willpower.
Martyr Motahari’s Fitrat (nature) theory tells us that man is a being that moves from the bottom rank in creation to the highest rank, which is perfection, and his movement toward perfection is never ending. That is why the Quran says: “(Muhammad), be devoted to the upright religion. It is harmonious with the nature which God has designed for people. The design of God cannot be altered. Thus is the upright religion, but many people do not know.” (Surah Ar-Rum, Verse 30)
Martry Motahari says Fitrat means how man was created. The second meaning of Fitrat is that humanity’s rank is above that of animals. We can call the rank of animals Ghariza (instinct). When Martyr Motahari talks about Fitri (natural) inclinations), he means the human rank. He introduces five or six Fitri inclinations such as seeking the truth, creativity, love and worship, loving beauty and moral virtues.
This can also be mentioned when we are talking about family. Families make up the society and the society is a real being, as emphasized by Allameh Tabatabaei with reference to many verses of the Holy Quran.
Martyr Motahari believes that both the individual and the society have primacy. He says disputes about women’s rights are rooted in the fact that we are not sure about which one has primacy, the individual or the society. If we do not recognize an institution between the individual and the society, namely the family, we cannot answer questions about women.
In Martyr Motahari’s view, the Westerners have faced problems in civilization making because they have forgotten the institution of family. This is while it is the families, not individuals, that make up the society. So it should be ignored.
The nature of humans is such that they are born and grow up in the family and then they form another family.
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