The Compassionate Family

The book Compassionate Family is a collection of speeches by Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei regarding the concept of family in Islam. The book is made up of Ayatollah Khamenei’s speeches, which have been dissected and sorted according to their topics, such that similar speeches or parts of speeches are grouped together, giving the book the form of a lengthy symposium. Ayatollah Khamenei speaks about the philosophy of marriage and family structures, how they affect various social and spiritual dimensions of humans, and the necessity for family structures to function in a divinely encouraged manner. He speaks about the effects of neglecting the Islamic family structure, as seen throughout the West and various Eastern societies. He focuses on the essential role of women in a non-apologetic manner as being the caretakers of this essential societal unit, and exalts the duty of women as those responsible for the social and academic upbringing of a society. He also focuses on the issue of materialism in wedding ceremonies and the various effects this can have on married couples as well as the rest of society. The book Khānivādih presents an ideal model for the Islamic family and should be studied, analysed, and acted upon by Muslim communities around the world in order to protect the religious upbringing of their children, strengthen their communities, and engage in a journey towards God.