INDEX FOREWORD CHAPTER ONE: SEXUAL EDUCATION IS FARD (MANDATORY) CHAPTER TWO: SEXUAL LIFE IS PART OF A LIFE OF WORSHIP CHAPTER THREE: SEXUALITY AND THE ISLAMIC REALITY, WHICH PRESIDES OVER SEXUAL LIFE CHAPTER FOUR: IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ABANDON SEXUAL LIFE CHAPTER FIVE: MARRIAGE IS AN INNATE NEED AND RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION CHAPTER SIX: THE ROLES OF SEXUAL PLEASURE CHAPTER SEVEN: SEXUAL PROHIBITIONS BETWEEN SPOUSES AND EXPIATION FOR HARAM BEHAVIOR CHAPTHER EIGHT: GUIDING RULES ON SEXUAL RELATIONS IN MARRIAGE AND GHUSL CHAPTHER NINE: SEXUAL DEFECTS, ILLNESSES, AND OTHER ISSUES THAT INVALIDATE MARRIAGE CHAPTER TEN: SEXUAL ISSUES IN MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, AND IDDAH CHAPTER ELEVEN: JEALOUSY CHAPTER TWELVE: HARAM SEXUAL ACTS CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PENALTIES FOR SEXUAL CRIMES CHAPTER FOURTEEN: POLYGAMY (Ta’addud Al-Zawajat) CHAPTER FIFTEEN: PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S MARRIAGES CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Concubines and Their Sexual Exploitation CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: SEXUAL LIFE IN HEAVEN ABBREVIATIONS: BIBLIOGRAPHY: ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 2 ABBREVIATIONS: Ibid. : (Latin, short for ibidem, meaning the same place) Avnul-Mabud: Avnul-Mabud SHerh-u Sunen-i Ebi Davud B. Meram : Buluğul-Meram min Edilletil-Ahkam El- Jami’us Sagir: el-Jamius-Sagir Fi Ehadisil-Beshirin-Nezir. Et-Tac: et-Tac el-Camiu lil-Usul Fi Ehadisir Resul. Feyzul Kadir: Faidul-Qadir Sherhul-Camius-Sagir. Hn: Hadith Number. Husnul-Ustevi: Husnul-Usveti Bima Sebete Minellahi ve Resulihi Fin-Nisveti. H. İ. ve İ.F. Kamusu: Hukuk-u Islamiyye ve Istilahat-i Fikhiyye Dictionary Ibn-i Mace: Sunnen-i Ibn-i Mace. I.Kesir : Tefsirul-Kur’anil-Azim. B. : Book K. Hafa : Kesful Hafa ve Muzlul-Iibas Ammeshtehere Minel-Ehadisi Ala Elsinetin Nasi. M. I. Kesir : Muhtasar Ibn-i Kesir. M. K. Ummal : Muntahab-u Kenzul-Ummal. M. Mesabih : Mishkatul-Mesabih Min Mirkatil-Mefatih: Min Mirkatil-Mefatih Sherh-u Mishkatil-Mesabih. M. S. Muslim : Muhtasar Sahih-i Muslim. M. Zevaid : Mecmeuz-Zevaid ve Menbeul-Fevaid. Musned : Musned-u Ahmed b. Hanbel r.a. : Radiyallahu Anhu Revaiul-Beyan : Revaiul-Beyan Tefsil-u Ayatil Ahkam. Umdetul-Kari (Ayni) : Umdetul-Kari SHerhun Fi Sahihil-Buhari. Sav : Sallallahu Aleyhi ve Selleme. T. D. V. : Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Tecrid : Sahihi Buhari Muhtasari Tecrid-i Sarih Ter. Ve SHerhi. Zadul-Mead : Zadul-Meyad Fi Hedy-I Hayril-İbad. 3 Translator’s Note Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahmin. All praise and thanks are due to Allah alone. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, the last of His messengers and prophets. This book covers an important topic that is not often discussed in the Muslim world. There is a need for a book like this in the English-speaking Muslim world because most of the books on this topic are not written from an Islamic point of view. While many Muslims shy away from talking about sexual issues, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke of sexual issues on many occasions as is detailed in this book. As these issues impact us all, this book is a value resource for Muslims as it provides information and sources on many different sexual issues. It should be noted that this book was written by a Turkish author. It was translated from Turkish to English and slightly adapted for the English-speaking world. In addition, the author translated some of the ahadith from Arabic to Turkish himself and these ahadith were then translated from Turkish to English. Some sections in the English version that contained information which was purely of a cultural manner were removed. The views expressed by the author sometimes diverge from the mainstream Islamic view and are not necessarily a reflection of the translator’s personal stance. Furthermore, as the author writes mainly from a Hanafi viewpoint while sometimes mentioning the views of the other schools of thought, at times footnotes were added to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that different points of view on a certain topic exist. May Allah bless the efforts of the author and all those associated with the production of this book. 4 Foreword Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim I praise Allah, Who created mankind as men and women, who instated natural and Qur’anic rules on sexuality, and Who Is the Creator and Sustainer of all existence. Famous western physiologist Kenneth Walker says, “Unfortunately Budha and Jesus, great spiritual leaders of humanity, did not say much about sexuality and it is very difficult to explain what they have already stated.1 May peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, Allah’s final Messenger, who, with the Qur’anic laws he explained plainly expressed all that must be said with regard to sexuality, lighting the path for mankind. The religion of Islam is the mutual message of prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, who were sent as messengers to various parts of the world. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet of this religion and he was sent to all creation. Qur’an, which he received from God through revelation, is a divine book that contains the essence and the summary of Torah, Bible and the like, and it is the final holy book of the religion of Islam which is valid until the Day of Judgment. The Qur’an, which was exemplified and explained by Prophet Muhammad, not only contains information on worship, economics, politics, etc., but it also states the rules on sexuality. Yet, just as with the other Qur’anic laws, the laws on sexuality must also be conceived in accordance with Islam as a whole. Put differently, without an understanding of the basics of Islam, which is a whole which many interconnected parts, it is not possible to comprehend any single area within this whole, including the parts related to sexuality. Humans, who enter the world as the result of sexuality and whose sexual responsibilities begin with puberty, are dependent upon the general rules that Islam presents and are in need of divine regulations with regard to sexuality. This book was written twenty-seven years ago for Muslims in the Turkish language. It was edited and adapted over the years and printed multiple times. It was re-edited for the English version and some sections were added. A non-Muslim reader who experiences sexuality within the context of a largely secular lifestyle 1. Kenneth Walker, Physiology of Sex and Its Social Implications Penguin Books, 2nd ed. 1954. 5 SEXUAL LIFE ACCORDING TO ISLAM may initially regard as strange some of the divine standards in the Qur’an. This judgment may arise from having never before examined Islam as a whole, and in most cases will give way to an understanding of how these standards are compatible with human nature and virtue. Warnings on the differences between the West and the Islamic world and advice on how to approach certain controversial topics have been acknowledged and disregarded due to the fact that Allah, the Creator of Mankind and the source of Islam’s laws, sent down laws that are compatible with human nature. While Allah’s laws are perfect, it is possible that there may be errors in this book, which are solely the fault of the author. In addition, the commentary on the Qur’an and Sunnah presented in this book should not be taken as the sole Islamic view or the law. Different scholars and madhhabs (schools of law or jurisprudence) have different views on different issues. The opinions of Muslim scholars that can be classified as scientific interpretation should be seen as what it is, the scholar’s interpretation, and should not be accepted as the permanent laws of Islam. For example; i. Homosexuality is a forbidden/haram act as stated by the Qur’an. Some of the sayings of prophet Muhammad, which reinforce this forbidden status might not be sufficient enough for Muslim scholars as the reason of this prohibition. ii. It is important to state that it is forbidden to have sexual intercourse during the menstrual cycle of women which is stated both in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Due to the nature of different cycles experienced by each woman there are varying opinions about the length of this prohibition according to different madhabs and in light of scientific data, iii. Facilitating marriage is a duty. There can be various opinions on how this will be carried out according to the social politics and priorities or a society. iv. The penalty for sexual offenses, which have not been stated in the Qur’an or sunnah, that are put forth by Muslim scholars, should be seen as refutable scholarly opinions. v. If we state it in broader terms, the conflicting opinions of Muslim scholars on issues that have not been openly declared by the Qur’an or the sunnah should not be seen as conflicts within the religion of Islam. In summary, we are only bound by the Qur’anic commands of our Lord and the sayings of His prophet. Only these two are perennial and perpetual. For this reason we have brought forth the verses of Qur’an and the sayings of the prophet and tried to explain subjects by relating them to these two sources. In addition, it should be noted that this book looks not only at the Islamic view of sexual intercourse but also addresses the topic of sexuality in a broad manner. 6 Thus, it explores topics such as marriage, polygamy. Adultery, homosexuality, anal intercourse, sexual diseases, divorce, jealousy, dress, chastity, prohibited sexual acts, pornography, music, media, alcohol, poverty, etc. This should explain the vast volume of this book and it should not be interpreted as an overemphasis of sex in Islam. The intention of this book is servitude toward the Creator of all mankind, the Lord Allah, and my goal is to gain His favor.