伊斯兰的社会制度关注男女两性，以及规范他们在私人领域和公共领域中彼此交往的方式。

The Social System in Islam is concerned with men and women, and the regulation of the way they interact with each other, whether in the private or public arenas.

长期以来，西方人对于男性和女性在生活中所扮演的角色存在诸多困惑。过去，女性被视为低于男性的存在，甚至被比作动物，被认为“没有灵魂”，或仅仅被当作财产。而在当今社会，女权运动和组织则与既有体制抗争，以争取与男性相同的地位和权利。

There has always been much confusion among people in the West as to the roles that men and women play in life. In the past, women were seen as inferior beings to men, and have even been compared to animals and regarded as ‘without souls’, or just items of property. And in the present day, womens movements and organisations struggle against the establishment to achieve the same status and rights as men.

这类冲突之所以在男女之间产生，是因为男女的本质以及他们在生活中应当扮演的角色，都交由人类的理性去界定。然而，有限的人类心智不可能完全理解男女错综复杂的本性，以及他们各不相同的情感与特质。因此，关于男女应如何相处，便产生了种种错误的观念。他们的角色始终得不到明确界定，结果就是社会陷入混乱。

These kinds of conflicts arise between men and women, because it is left to human reason to define what is the nature of men and women, and what roles they are supposed to play in life. However, it is impossible for limited human minds to understand fully the intricate nature of men and women, and their different emotions and characteristics. As a result of this, erroneous ideas arise about how men and women should interact with each other. Their roles remain undefined, and the result is chaos in society.

由于缺乏清晰的界定，许多问题都直接由此而来，无论是关于男女在恋爱关系中、家庭中还是职场中的角色。这正是对妇女的歧视与压迫、家庭破裂、性骚扰、卖淫、虐待儿童、同性恋等现象的根源——由一个界定不清的社会制度所带来的后果，几乎数不胜数。

Many problems stem directly from this lack of clarity, whether concerning the roles of men and women in relationships, in families or in the workplace. This is why there is discrimination against and oppression of women, family breakdown, sexual harassment, prostitution, child abuse, homosexuality - the list of the consequences of an ill-defined social system is almost endless.