La_Zarar Rule and Spiritual Damage Compensationon Family

Family is the oldest human institution that emerged as a result ofsocial, emotional and legal solidarity between groups of humanbeings who are linked together via marriage bond. The efforts of themembers of the groups bring about credit and social dignity for thefamily institution which is regarded as their shared spiritual capital.This capital has been recognized by Islamic social teachings as wellas by Islamic law; accordingly, moral and legal rules, both publicand private, have been stipulated by the Islamic law in order tosupport this valuable capital. One such rule is that of la zararwa lazirar. This rule, based on a hadith narrated by MurratibniJundab, isused to recognize any spiritual damage on family as being a case forzarar (incurring loss) or zirar (inflicting loss upon others) in orderto confirm a verdict and hence compensate for any such damage orloss on family. Also, in view if the spirit of this rule, any damagecompensation for an individual or a group is legally recognized.Since establishing a legal person status for family appears legallydifficult, any individual members of the family (as natural persons)may sue for any damage to their dignity and emotions in the familywithin the context of this same rule.