Preface
منذ 3 سنوات
791
This book is the result of a need which I sensed after my first three years in Canada. A person in my position is always confronted by people with questions related to their religious and personal problems. Unlike the Eastern style where the contact is more on a personal level, the contact in this part of the world is more through correspondence and telephone calls. I soon realized the whenever the question was 'embarrassing' or related to sexual behaviour, the caller would prefer not to give his or her name. And, of course, I had no reason to insist on knowning the identity of the callers; my only duty is to listen and convey the Islamic view to those who seek.
However, what was most interesting about these 'embarrassing' questions was that in majority of cases the callers were feeling guilty for actions that were absolutely permissible in Islam! But because of their ignorance or misinformation, they had been feeling guilty for things which were not at all forbidden in the shari'ah. And I said to myself: There must be many more people out there who are going through similar experience, feeling guilty and depressed; and all this because of ignorance! Not all have the courage to talk on such issues or even call without revealing their identity. And so I decided that I have to do something.
I started writing on the sexual morality of Islam. This was in 1986. When I finished the initial draft, I though that the material might be considered too controversial, and so I decided to taste the water before publishing the book. A lecture on 'Sex and Marriage in Islam' was organized on November 9, 1986 at the Shia Muslim Community Center in Vancouver. The vast majority of the community members responded very positively. A lady from the audience wrote a letter which expresses the reaction of the majority. She wrote,
Later on I came to know that the video cassette of the lecture was sent to different places as far as England and East Africa. Since I had mentioned in the video that this is the draft of a forth-coming book, I started getting inquiries about it. The response further encouraged me to go ahead with the publication of the book. However, the publication of the book was, unfortunately, delayed for three years because of my involvement in some other activities. During the last months of 1989, Almighty Allah blessed me with the opportunity to finalize the book. While finalizing the book, I started adding many discussions which eventually doubled the size of the initial draft of 1986 and increased its academic value. This, I hope,
Chapter One gives a short historical review of the Western sexual morality. This sets the tone for the next chapter which presents the basic view of Islam on marriage and sex. In this chapter, I have also critically reviewed the ideas of an Arab feminist, Fatema Mernissi, on woman's sexuality in Islam. The remaining three chapters deal with the practical aspects of marriage: sexual relations; contraceptives and abortion; and new techniques in human reproduction.In the last three chapters of the book, the reader will find a variety of opinions among the Shi'ah mujtahids. (Mujtahids means jurists, the experts of Islamic laws.) The difference of opinions is an essential part of ijtihad which is still a live institution in Shi'a Islam. I have also clearly given the opinions of the most high-ranking Shi'ah mujtahids of our time, in particular Ayatullah al-'uzma Sayyid Abu 'l-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khu'i and the late Ayatullah al-'uzma al-Imam Sayyid Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni.
However, I must clarify at the very outset that there are some issues on which the present writer has given his own opinions. This has been done mostly in those cases where the present mujtahids have no opinion. In any case, since all the views have been mentioned clearly, the muqallidin (followers) of the present mujtahids can use this book without any concern about the validity of their actions.
I hope this book will receive even better reception than the video of 1986; and I pray to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, to guide me to the best of opinions and accept this work as a small contribution towards serving Islam, Inna rabbi la Sami'u 'd-du'a.| Richmond, B.C. | S. M. Rizvi |
| Jamadi II 410 | |
| January 1990 | Tel: (604) 278-3698 |
Writers do not normally have to justify their subject. If they think that what they are writing will be useful to the people in their practical life or in their intellectual pursuit, then they feel no need to justify their work. The present book has both qualities: it is useful and of intellectual interest. But there are many people, even among the Muslims, who think that sex is a taboo subject in all religions. Therefore, it seems very appropriate to begin with the question: Is discussion of sexual morality allowed in Islam?
To answer this question on has to look at the definition of religion from the Islamic point of view. Anyone who has studied Islam even on surface can easily know that "religion" in Islamic definition is "a complete system of life" which covers all aspects of human life -from the day a person is conceived up to the day he or she is laid in grave. Islam is not only concerned with the spiritual upliftment of human beings, it is equally concerned about their material and physical well-being. Islam guides its followers in financial and economic matters, in social and political affairs, and also in moral and personal spheres of human life. In moral and personal matters, Islam has
This was about the basic permission which Islam has given to discuss the sexual morality. But this explanation will not be enough for some people who will confront me with the next question: "Is it necessary to discuss sex?" There are three reasons for the necessity of discussing sexual morality. The first reason applies to all Muslims and the other two reasons are relevant to the Muslims living in the Western world who are the primary audience of this book. Firstly, all Muslims agree that it is the duty of every Muslim to follow the shari'ah -Islamic laws; and the laws of Islam are not confined to prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, and other ritual acts- the shari'ah has specific rules about sex also. Therefore, if a Muslim wants to follow Islam fully, then it is necessary for him or her to know the sexual morality of Islam; just as it is necessary to learn how to perform the daily prayers.
Secondly, the necessity of learning the Islamic sexual morality for the Muslims who are exposed to the New Sexual Morality of the West cannot be over-emphasized. At present, the propagandists of the new sexual morality are presenting their ideas through all the available means
Thirdly, children in the Western world have excess to sex education to an extent unimaginable by the previous generation, and therefore, it is very important for today's parents to be aware of the right and the wrong in this subject. Only an informed Muslim parent will be able to face this problem correctly and responsibly.
These reasons should be a sufficient justification for this book to those who, in the Qur'anic expression, have 'a heart or give ear with a present mind.'The third reason given above does not necessarily means that I am in total agreement with the way sex education is handled in the Western school systems. I have no problem with the basic ideas that children should be educated about sex. However, I disagree with the age at which sex education begins and with its contents. This issue by itself deserves a detailed discussion which is beyond the scope of my present study. Nonetheless, I will briefly mention my thoughts on these two issues.
Age: Sex education should begin in mid-teens when the children become sexually mature. The aim of sex education at this level should be to help them in understanding that they are responsible and accountable for using their sexual organs. They should be taught how to deal with sexual tension. (However, by looking at the proportionally high level of child sexual abuse in the Western world [which reflects the degree of its moral decay], I am prepared to accept those programs for young children which aim at educating them as how to protect themselves from sexual abuse. But this, in my view, is not sex education and therefore would not apply to our present discussion.)
Contents: In this permissive society, the emphasis in sex education is more on preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. No serious attempt is made in making the youngsters aware of the virtue of chastity and abstinence till they get married. This is not just because the Western society is a secular, liberal society, it is also related to its consumer-orientated economy. If sex education means only how to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, then the students learn nothing but the importance of using pills, condoms and other contraceptive devices. In other words, such sex education is nothing but a promotional program for the manufacturers of contraceptive aids! Germaine Greer, a famous feminist, wrote about promoting contraceptives in the Third world as follows, "The sex reformers, who exhibit no respect for traditional values and address themselves to sexuality without interest in or comprehension of the whole personality, are the
In short, I agree with the necessity of sex education for youngsters provided it exhibits respect for their religious and moral values, and addressed the issue comprehensively and not just end up as a promotional program for 'the bawds of capitalism'.In Islamic system, the issue of sexual morality comes under the shari'ah, the laws of Islam. Therefore it seems appropriate to explain the sources of the shari'ah from our point of view. The sources of the Islamic laws are two thing: the Qur'an and the sunnah. By the sunnah, we mean the sayings, actions and silent approval of the Prophet and the Ahlu 'l-bayt.
The Qur'an describes only the basic rules of the shari'ah, and the sunnah elaborates upon them. The Qur'an introduces the Prophet of Islam as follows: "He (Allah) raised up among the common people a Messenger from among themselves to recite to them His revelations,
The Muslims who lived during the Prophet's time had easy excess to his sunnah. What about us who were born hundreds of years after the Prophet's death? Well, the Muslims of the early days realized the importance of the Prophet's sunnah and started preserving his sayings in books of hadith. Even the actions of the Prophet, observed by the companions, were preserved in writing. But this process of preserving the sunnah of the Prophet was not immune from mistakes and even forgery. Many sayings were invented and wrongfully attributed to the Prophet during the easy period of the Islamic history. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to find an authentic and, at the same time, informed source for the sunnah of the Prophet.
These few verses are enough to show that the best commentators of the Qur'an and the most authentic source for the Prophet's sunnah are the Imams of Ahlu 'l-bayt. The Prophet himself said, "I am leaving among you two worthy things. As long as you hold on to them both, you will never be led astray after me. One of these two is greater than the other: the Book of Allah (which is a rope hanging from the heaven to the earth) and my descendants, my Ahlu 'l-bayt. These two things will not separate from each other until they come to me at the (fountain of) Kauthar (in the hereafter). Therefore, see how you recompense me by the way you deal with them." This is not the place to discuss about the authenticity of
We can conclude from these verses and the hadith mentioned above that the Ahlu 'l-bayt are the most authentic and the best source for the sunnah, and therefore we prefer them to all other sources. Whenever we quote a hadith from the Imams of Ahlu 'l-bayt, it is not actually from themselves, instead it is the hadith of the Prophet which they have preserved as the true successors of the last messenger of God. Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says, "My hadith is the hadith of my father, the hadith of my father is that of my grandfather, the hadith of my grandfather is that of al-Husayn [bin 'Ali], the hadith of al-Husayn is that of al-Hasan [bin 'Ali], the hadith of al-Hasan is that of Amiru 'l-mu'minin ['Ali bin Abi Talib] (a.s.), the hadith of Amiru 'l-mu'minin is that of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.), and the hadith of the Messenger is a statement of Allah, the Almighty, the Great."2Ijtihad & Taqlid: After the twelfth Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) went into occultation, the responsibility of guiding the Shi'ahs in the shari'ah matters came upon the mujtahids, the religious scholars specializing in Islamic laws. The mujtahids derive the Islamic laws from the two sources mentioned above. This may sound very simple, but it is not so. They do not just open the Qur'an and the books of hadith, and start giving fatwas. They must first of all come up with a mehtodology of ijtihad (discussed in a subject known as usulu 'l-fiqh).
In their methodology, the mujtahids decide how to study the Qur'anic verses and the ahadith. Should they take the lliteral meanings only? Have they to find out which verse came first and which came second on the same issue? Will the latter verse abrogate the former, or will it just put some limitations on it? Is every hadith to be considered authentic? If not, what are the means of verfigying the authenticity of a given hadith? If they come up on two authentic but contradictory ahadith on a single issue, what recourse should be followed? All such problems have to be solved while designing the methodology of ijtihad, and only then can a mujtahid correctly and responsibly derive a law from the Qur'an and the sunnah.
(It is obvious that not all have the ability or the time to specialize in the shari'ah laws; and therefore, for such people it is necessary to follow a mujtahid in the matters of shari'ah. This "following" is known as taqlid.)
The Islamic views expressed in this book are based on the Qur'anic verses, and the sunnah of the Prophet and the Imams as understood by the Shi'ah mujtahids.
