When the child of Adam dies, all his deeds are cut off except three. These are: continuing charity, useful knowledge that benefits others, and a righteous child who prays for him/her. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) If you are planning for a year, plant grains. If you are planning for a decade, plant trees. But if you are planning for a millennium, then plant human beings. Ancient Proverb Marriage, Family and Modernity With the increasing modernisation of our life, age-old institutions such as marriage and family are progressively coming under attack. Many in society feel ill-equipped to withstand the storm of liberal-materialistic ideas regarding the man-woman relationship and other aspects of life. As a result, extramarital and same-sex relationships, teenage pregnancies, single-parent families, family disintegration and domestic violence are giving rise to problem children and eating away at the fabric of society. This is also placing an enormous burden on the national economy. Human beings are drifting away from peace, trust and the purpose of life on earth. In this state of affairs, 'traditionalists' tend to put their heads in the sand to escape from the challenges of life while 'secularists' want to ditch venerable human values on the altar of 'modernism'. Given the proselytising of the laissez faire attitude toward marriage and family, raising children with values and social responsibility has become an arduous task. Continue...