What is wrong if two individuals desire to get involved in a sexual
relationship with each other ?
Sex is a divine gift. Its foremost function amongst living creature
is reproduction. It is also true that in the case of man, besides
reproduction, his mental health, shappiness of family life , peacefull
social life : all are linked to sexuality. In availing of a sexual behaviour
that is not in keeping with the divine guidelines, the mental health of
the individual, solidarity of the family and social structure will be
adversely affected. Moreover, such extra-marital relations will lead
to the affliction by sexually transmitted diseases which will eventually
end in the degeneration of society. Indeed, those who have learned of
this through experience have been the very people who claim for
themselves the status of being the spokespersons of modern civilisation.
Islam teaches that if two individuals are to have sexual relations
with each other they are to do so only through the contract of marriage.
Apart from that all other relations are bound to create problems and
damage. It will also destroy the very fabric of all values in society. It
will cast the seeds of suspicion within one’s marital life. Such suspicion
will then create cracks within the rapport between hearts. It disrupts
family relations - it will even gravely affect the mental health of future
generations.
The statistics related to this subject in Kerala, which is currently
moving ahead with the acceptance of western values, will frighten
any with a sense of moral consciousness. For instance, at least three
hundred people report atthe Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in
Trivandrum every month to verify through DNA whether they
themselves are indeed the fathers of the infants borne by their wives.
(Mathrubhumi Weekly, 31.01.99) What does this reveal? The number
of spouses who distruct each other is on the increase. What is the
reason for this? The answer is given by Mathrubhumi itself: “30
percent of the men and 18 percent of the women who participated in
the survey confessed that they indulge in extra-marital affairs.â€
This is the state of Keralite society which boasts of great and
lasting moral traditions. As for the state of western societies, it is even
worse. The greatest social problem there continues to be the girls who
become pregnant at a very tender age. Another important issue with
which the government continues to grapple is the problem of illegitimate
children. However the situation there is such that these issues are not
considered as problematic at all. Social scientists, however, warn that
such violations of behavioural norms lead to the collapse of the institution
of the family and consequently create social problems of a grave nature
which will, in the long run, end in the total chaos and destruction of the
western world.
Islam has never envisioned such a society. Islam has striven for
the creation of a society wherein a peaceful family environment and
marital relationship prevails.
To that end, Islam considers that all sexual relations outside of
wedlock are to be prohibited. For that reason the Qur'an recommends
strict penal laws which serve to eliminate such sexual relations.
Conceding the fact that the sexual impulse is, indeed, one of the most
powerful of instincts, it is necessary, nevertheless, to check man, in
the exercise of that impulse, with equally compelling measures. Indeed,
herein lies the great relevance of the punishments in the Qur'an.
Will it be possible to eliminate extra-marital relationships through
the punishments prescribed in the Qruan ?
It is not just penal laws that find mention in the Qur'an. In fact,
Islam views the recourse to penal law only as a last resort. The Qur'an
teaches that all circumstances which can lead to extra-marital sexual
affairs must first be removed. All laws and regulations for that purpose
are provided by the Qur'an. They can be summarized as follows:
One : Men and women are to dress decently. As sight constitutes
the prime motivation of the sexual impulse in man, women are not to
dress in such a fashion as to display their beauty.
Two : There should be nothing in society which is of a sexually
provocative nature. Indeed, in an Islamic society caberrets, dances,
beauty contests, ballets and the like are never permitted.
Three : The unrestricted mingling of the sexes, which ultimately
leads to adultery, must be prevented.
Four : The use of sex as a profession must be completely
banned. For in an Islamic society, prostitutes, call-girls, sex-bombs,
nude models and the like are an impossibility.
Five: Men and women (excepting for the husband or any relative
with whom marriage has been prohibited ) are not to travel together.
Six :Men and women are not to converse freely except in the
presence of another person.
Seven: Unless they have become mates through the institution
of marriage, men and women are not to gaze at each other with lewed
passion.
Eight : They are not to speak, or flirt, in a manner that evokes lust.
Nine : If a man comes with the offer of marriage, the guardians
of the woman must come forward to offer her in marriage to him if he
is seen to be of a suitable person.
Ten : In the case of the men who cannot find contentment in a
single woman, there is also the provisions - albeit, a conditional one -
to marry more than one woman.
Firstly, the Qur'an seeks to remove all situations which serve to
inflame sexual passions and to promote crime of adultery. Secondly, it
provides for an open permission for the fulfillment of desires through
recourse to a lawful procedure. Even after this, those who opt for
illegal means for the fulfillment of their desires actually destroy the
moral fabric of society as well as the family. Islam’s prescription here
is to award severe punishments in such cases.
Circumstances play not an insignificant role in tempting man to
commit sin. In actual terms, therefore, due to the transformation of
the media and the market into the promoters of sexual provocation
and the current stand of the society in seeing in extra-marital
relationships nothing of a sinful nature, the attacks against women
have only risen to alarming heights. Take the case of Kerala itself. If
the number of reported cases of rape in Kerala in 1997 was 193, 266
in 1995 and 399 in 1996, it rose to 588 in 1997. A 121.05 percent
increase in just two years! By the month of October’98, 461 cases of
rape were reported. (Courtesy: Mathrubhumi Weekly, 24.05.1999).
What could be the reason for this ? The shift in the position of the
society as regards to extra-marital affairs and the exploitation of
feminine charms by the media and the market have played out not a
small part of their own in dontributing to the riseof atrocities against
wemen. If such a state of affairs is to continue, even women who lead
decent lives will not be allowed to go about in peace in Kerala.
This situation cannot exist in an Islamic society. For there can
be no instance wherein women cannot live free of the fear of losing
their chastity. Indeed, in the time of the Prophet very few people,
whose number could be virtually counted by the fingers of one’s hands,
were punished for adultery. So was it during the reign of the Caliphs.
Although thesway of the media and the influence of western culture
have all served to create much decadence, the low rate of crime even
today in countries where the Qur'anic penal laws are implemented
highlights its practicability through all ages.
