Sexuality in Islam - Essay Example

? 30 November Sexuality in Islam Sexuality in any religion is a very sensitive topic, and most religions offer subjective instructions about the allowable sexual behaviors. Islam is one religion that is very objective and clear in its views about human sexuality. This paper discusses several aspects of the human sexuality in Islam and the permissible sexual behaviors with special emphasis upon Islam’s stance on homosexuality, polygamy and the sexual life. Homosexuality is strictly prohibited in Islam. Allah has destroyed nations in the past because of their indulgence in homosexuality. Allah has described very dreadful punishments both in this world and in the world hereafter for the people who practice homosexuality. Allah says in the Quran, “What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay, but ye are forward folk” (Qur'an 26:165 cited in “Islam and Homosexuality”). The people of Hazrat Lut (P.B.U.H.) practiced homosexuality. They practiced it both indoor and in the public. Prophet Lut (P.B.U.H.) repeatedly told them to stop this practice, but they would not listen, thus inviting the wrath of Allah and one day, those people were all destroyed together by Allah. Islam condemns homosexuality because it has myriad evil consequences. Homosexuality distorts the family system and deprives people of their gender traits. Islam allows the man to marry no more than four women at one time. Polygamy has been practiced by a lot of prophets in the history of Islam. Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jacob, and the Prophet Solomon had three, two, four, and 700 wives respectively (“An Introduction to Polygamy”). Critics say that if man is allowed to keep four wives at one time, the woman should also be allowed to keep up to four husbands at one time. But polygamy is in no circumstances allowed for the women in Islam. This makes sense. When a man marries four women, the child any of the wives would bear would be certainly his. On the contrary, when a woman makes love with more than one man at a time, there is no certainty in the child’s belongingness to a particular man unless the child is genetically tested. In addition to that, women generally outnumber men. Thus, when a man marries more than once, more women are likely to get married in their life than otherwise. Although polygamy for men is allowed in Islam, yet it is not practiced equally in all Islamic countries. Polygamy is so well-practiced by the Muslims in the Arabia, that it has also become a cultural trait. Polygamy is so ingrained in the Arab culture that a man keeps all the wives in the same home but in different rooms. In many Muslim countries including India and Pakistan, women cannot stand another wife of their husband. They cannot share their husband’s love with another woman. This is the reason why practicing polygamy for a Muslim man in these counties exposes him to a lot of cultural and social issues, though he is religiously justified as long as he does justice to all of the wives. There is a very sheer population of Muslim men in India and Pakistan that have more than one wife at the same time. This is purely a cultural issue. In these countries, women cannot even bear a look of their husband’s wife, what to talk of living in the same home like the Arabian women do. It is noteworthy that while Islam allows the man to keep up to four wives at one time, Islam also obliges the man to do justice to each of the four. This essentially means that a man has to distribute equal amount of money, time and assets among the wives. If a man has two wives and he lives with one more than the other, he is doing injustice and will be held accountable for his actions on the doom’s day. There are no age restrictions in marriage in Islam. A man can get married to an elder woman and so can a woman. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was only 25 years old when he was proposed by Hazrat Khadija (P.B.U.H.) who was 40 years old at that time. This also points towards another principle of marriage. Conventionally, in the conservative societies, women are not expected to propose men. It is considered as an immodest deed, but the fact that Hazrat Khadija (P.B.U.H.) had proposed the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) clearly speaks of the fact that a woman’s marriage proposal to a man is by no means immodest or indecent, and is rather fully justified. The rules of sex are the most debatable subject in the discussion of sexuality. Islam lays very clear principles about the way a man can make love to the woman. Islam tells what is forbidden or haram in sex, everything else is allowed. Islam forbids a man from doing anal sex with the wife. Except for the fact that anal sex is not allowed, nothing else is prohibited. Science explains why anal sex should be disallowed. Anal sex between men or between people belonging to the opposite genders is the fundamental cause of the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Anal sex or sodomy is very unhygienic and increases an individual’s susceptibility to different kinds of sexually inherited diseases. Islam condemns abortion strictly. Abortion is considered a murder in Islam. Once the fetus has formed, the mother is supposed to nurture it till the time of delivery irrespective of whether the sexual act of the mother was permissible or not. Islam condemns premarital sex. Sex in Islam is allowed only after marriage of a man and a woman. In fact, when a man makes love to his wife, it is considered an act so noble in Islam that it is given the status of charity. In the present age, the contraception culture is rapidly spreading. More and more people are making use of such things as condoms to keep the pregnancy from occurring. People tend not to make babies because of the fear that they would not be able to provide the children with a good lifestyle. Islam forbids certain methods of birth control. Any method in which the woman permanently loses her ability to bear a child is forbidden in Islam. “So any medical procedure that leads to complete sterilization and is not medically required, is not allowed. This goes against the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad and if not done for medical reasons, is usually done for vain, selfish or impractical purpose” (Ibrahim). In the present age, a significant population of the people who indulge in the premarital sex is that of the teenagers. As soon as children reach the age of puberty, they are overwhelmed with their sexual desires. Therefore, Islam encourages its followers to get married as soon as possible. People generally don’t get married until they are settled well or until they are financially stable. Such a mentality is not appreciated by Islam. This is fundamentally because of the fact that such a mentality does not have faith in the creator who provides for all living beings. All a Muslim needs to do to get married is to have firm faith in Allah and be sexually mature enough for the marriage. However, Islam encourages people to be selective in their choice of the marital partner. Islam lays certain conditions that have to be met in order for two people to get married to each other. The first and the foremost obligation upon the two is that both should believe in one God. A Muslim man can have a Christian or a Jew wife because Christians and Jews also believe in one God and the books they follow have also been sent by Allah before he sent Quran. While a Muslim man can marry a Christian woman or a Jew woman, the same is not allowed for a Muslim woman. A Muslim woman is bound to marry a Muslim man. Concluding, Islam offers clear instructions about what is allowed and what is not allowed in sex. Homosexuality is not allowed. Polygamy only for men is allowed. A Muslim man can marry non-Muslim women provided that they are true believers of one God and follow one of the books that have been sent by Allah before Quran. Muslim couples can have sex in any way they like except for anal sex. Abortion is a murder in Islam. People are encouraged to marry as soon as possible in order to have legitimate means of relieving their tensions and achieving their sexual desires. Islamic laws about human sexuality apparently are a bit more liberal for the men than the women, like the option of polygamy for the men but not for women and marrying outside the religion with due conditions for men but not for the women. However, every rule has a purpose which may not necessarily be understood by anybody but Allah. Sex in Islam is disallowed between any two or more individuals but between a husband and a wife. Works Cited: “An Introduction to Polygamy in Islam.” 21 May 2006. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . Ibrahim, Abu. “Islamic Rulings on Contraception.” 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . “Islam and Homosexuality.” n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . Read More