The Joint Family

AFTER MARRIAGE, the first question that most often comes to mind is whether to opt for living in a joint family or a nuclear one. The Shariah has nothing against either. One is free to choose any of the two according to one’s own convenience. But in my experience, if the couple is mature enough, the joint family system would be beneficial in every respect.

There are many requirements in every home. To build a successful home, many demands have to be fulfilled. In this regard, the joint family system proves more effective than the nuclear one.

In the initial nuclear family, there are only two members—the husband and wife. But later on children are born, and this entails the taking care of one another, and the taking care of the house as well. In a nuclear family, the husband and wife end up having to do everything on their own. While in a joint family, all the members of the family contribute to the functioning of the house, and help each other out. This proves beneficial for everyone. But everything has a price, and in a joint family, one has to live amicably with all the members of the family, avoiding confrontations and unpleasant situations. This is a prerequisite for a successful joint family system. Therefore, those who have an aptitude for harmonious living should opt for this system.

In life, everyone has to pay the price of either system. One either sacrifices one’s ego for the benefit of a joint family system, or one keeps one’s ego intact, and deprives oneself of these benefits. No one can find both these things at the same time.