There are three main objectives of the Social System in Islam. These are :

To define the roles of men and women.

To organise the relationship between men and women and to solve the problems that arise from this relationship.

To regulate the family structure.

All the rules and laws which human beings are subject to in order to fulfil these objectives are defined by the Shari‘ah. Some roles are unique to men and women and some apply to both.

A man can take different roles with regard to his relationship with those around him. Islam defines different rights and duties for the man depending on which capacity he is acting in. Some of the roles he could have are as :

Grandfather.

Maternal/ Paternal Uncle.

Father.

Brother.

Son.

Husband.

Maternal / Paternal Nephew.

Unrelated man.

Some examples of the different rights and duties incumbent upon the man depending on his capacity are :

The father must provide food, shelter and clothing for his children, until such a time that they are mature, and able to support themselves, after which his support becomes a charity.

‘A’isha (ra) narrated that Hind bint Utbah came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and she said, “Oh Rasul Allah, Abu Sufyan is a miserly man and I have nothing from him except what I take for myself.” The Prophet (saw) said, “Take what is sufficient for you and your child with justice.” Kitab al Umm, Imam Shafi‘i.