Prohibited Sex Acts

Prohibited Sexual Acts in Islam
Islamic Ruling on Anal Sex
Reprinted from IslamOnline.com's Fatwa Bank
Title of Fatwa: Islamic Ruling on Anal Sex
Date of Fatwa: 15/ March/ 2001
Date of Reply: 15/ March/ 2001
Topic of Fatwa: Sexual Relations
Question of Fatwa: What does Islam say about anal sex? What are the consequences of having anal sex? What if I had anal sex with my wife?
Name of Mufti: Islam Online Fatwa Committee
Content of Reply: See Below
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Almighty Allah says in the Qur'an: "Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth, when or how you will, and send (good deeds, or ask Allah to bestow upon you pious offspring) for your ownselves beforehand. And fear Allah, and know that you are to meet Him (in the Hereafter), and give good tidings to the believers." (Al-Baqarah: 223)
In the foregoing verse the word Harth (tilth) indicates that only vaginal sex is permissible in Islam, because it is from this place children are produced. The semen lodged in the womb from which offsprings come is likened to the seeds that are planted in the ground, bringing vegetation. Both of them are substances from which something else is produced.
All Muslim jurists agree that anal sex is Haram, based on the Hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Do not have anal sex with women." (Reported by Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa'i, and Ibn Majah.)
Khuzaymah Ibn Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with him, also reports that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah is not too shy to tell you the truth: Do not have sex with your wives in the anus." (Reported by Ahmad, 5/213.)
Ibn `Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah will not look at a man who has anal sex with his wife." (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah, 3/529, and At-Tirmidhi classified it as an authentic Hadith, 1165.)
Further, it is reported that the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, referred to such an act as "minor sodomy." (Reported by Ahmad and An-Nasaa'i.)
However, it is allowed to caress the wife and stimulate her around the anus, without having sex in this area. It is reported that `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, came one day to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined!" "What has ruined you?" asked the Prophet. He replied, "Last night I turned my wife over," meaning that he had had vaginal intercourse with her from the back. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not say anything to him until the verse cited above was revealed. Then he told him, "From the front or the back, but avoid the anus and intercourse during menstruation." (Reported by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi.)
If one does have anal sex with his wife, he has committed a grave sin, which requires repentance. He should regret and feel contrite for committing such a sin. Allah Almighty destroyed a whole nation who were accustomed to this evil habit.
But the wife is not considered divorced as many people think, because there is no evidence to support this view. However, scholars maintain that if a man habitually does this or insists on having anal sex with his wife, she has the right to ask for a divorce, because he is considered an evildoer who is causing harm by his action, and also because the purpose of marriage cannot be achieved through this action.
The wife has to resist this evil action and refuse to respond to her husband's desire to have anal sex. She should remind him of Allah as well as the punishment of those who transgresses the Bounds set by Allah.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Note: All Fatwas published on Islamonline.net represent the juristic views and opinions of eminent scholars and Muftis. They do not necessarily form a juristic approach upheld by the website.
Defining Pornography
Author: a young Muslim
Reprinted from Young Muslims, ymonline.org, edited slightly by Zawaj.com for readability
Have you ever notice the magazines staring at you from one side of the checkout lane of every supermarket? I have. So one day I decided to take action. I turned the first magazine in every row to its backside. Not surprisingly, when I returned the next day they were turned back. Why did I turn them over? Because they were pornographic. Why were they turned back? Because they sell.
Perhaps most Muslims think that pornography is only that uncensored filth that is accessible through XXX movies and certain Internet sites, but in fact, by Islamic standards, much of what is considered normal in American advertising is actually pornographic. The purpose of flailing these seductive images is to arouse the lower desires of people and to weaken their self-restrain and taint their thoughts. It bombards the Muslim, especially the youth, with indecent and suggestively seductive images. Unfortunately, most Muslims are so oblivious of the presence and influence of these Shaytanic (Satanic) images, that they regularly view them through various types of media.
Defining Pornography
Pornography is defined in the English language as an indecent form of art or literature. Islam also views it as indecent and terms it as faahisha in the Quran.
Allah says (what means):
"Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds whether open or secret…"
Faahishah is translated as "shameful deeds" because it refers to every bad deed that is noticeably ugly to human beings. In many places in the Quran, Allah (swt) refers to zinaa, adultery and fornication as a faahishah. In another verse, Allah (swt) refers to the marrying of one's father's wife also as being a faahishah because, like adultery, anyone with a pure nature will clearly see it as hideous. Allah (swt) also calls the crime of the people of Lut (as), homosexuality, a faahishah. Likewise to view pictures of nudity, sexual suggestion, intimacy between two people, or a person of the opposite gender who is improperly covered (Islamically) is also an ugly sin to anyone who wishes to adhere to piety.
Television
One of the most pervasive tools of pornography is the television. Shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "Baywatch" have no other purpose except to display blatant degrees of nakedness and indecent scenes of intimacy. Movies also succeed in conveying lewd imagery by almost always including a love/lust story in the story line. However there are other forms of pornography on TV that are much more subtle. For example, most Muslims would not realize that the viewing of several sports events includes pornographic images. The swimsuits that are worn by both men and woman during the Olympics are iniquitously revealing. They expose the 'awrah of a woman and a man for their respective genders and the opposite gender.
The word 'awrah refers to those parts of the body which are Islamically prohibited to expose in front of another (either the opposite gender or the same gender). For example, it is a must for a woman to cover all of her body except for her face and hands in front of men who are permissible for her to marry - that is her 'awrah. Likewise the man's 'awrah is everything between his navel and knees while in front of a woman or a man. The skimpy swimsuits worn by these athletes just don't meet the Islamic dress code.
Underwear Ads
Another subtle example regards women who view advertisements that contain pictures of other women modeling bras and underwear. The 'awrah of Muslim women in front of other Muslim women doesn't allow these areas of the body to be exposed and hence it is haram for even a woman to view them.
It is also important to keep in mind that a person could be "clothed but naked" as Rasoolullah (saws) said. For example, competitors in races usually wear some sort of bodysuit that adheres very tightly to their skin and the exact shape of their body parts is apparent. This is almost equivalent to being naked, since it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what is under such type of clothing.
Lowering the Gaze
When such images become prevalent in a society, what is deemed pornographic changes drastically. The very standard of modesty, which should be a defining characteristic of Muslim dress and behavior, will become degraded. The Islamic standard must be upheld. The true believer fears Allah's judgement and knows that no act will go unaccounted for and that even his own eyes will bear witness against him on the Day of Judgement. Allah (swt) says: "Until, when they reach it (Hell-Fire) their hearing and eyes and skin will testify against them as to what they used to do." Rasoolullah (saws) warned us that there is a zinaa of the eyes just as there is a zinaa of the private parts.
The Islamic solution to living in a society where pornographic images are so visible is to lower one's gaze.
Allah (swt) says:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well aquainted with all they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof… "
The scholars of tafseer say that this means that both men and woman are obliged to direct their sight away from that which is haram and that there is no harm in looking at that which is halal (such as viewing one's spouse while they are uncovered).
In regard to these verses Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) says:
"So He (Allah) put purity after lowering of the gaze and protecting of the private parts. For this reason lowering the gaze away from the prohibited things warrants three great benefits. The first of them is the sweetness of Imaan and the pleasure that comes from it, which is more sweet and pleasing than that which he diverted his eyes away from for Allah's sake. Verily, whoever abandons a thing for Allah's sake, He (swt) compensates him with better than it…The second benefit is a light in the heart and quality of intuition… and the third benefit is the strength of the heart and steadfastness and courage. So Allah (swt) would give him, by His strength, the ability of wisdom and substantiation, and the devil would flee from him as it has been mentioned in the saying, "Whoever fears his whims, the devil would race out of his shadow."
Indeed, the opposite is also true. This is because the eyes are the most direct path to the heart. One who allows his whims to overwhelm him and indulges his eyes in the viewing of haram things has weakened his heart, corrupted his soul, and invited shaytan to control him.
Zina - a Major Sin
By Imam Shamsuddin Adh-Dhahabi

Allah ta`ala says: "Do not come near Zina, for it is a shameful deed and an evil path." 17:32
"The male and female who commit fornication - flog each one of them with one hundred lashes, and do not let compassion for the two of them keep you from (complying with) Allah's religion, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment." [24:2]
The Jurists say that the last verse quoted above is the punishment for fornicators who have never been married. If a person was ever married before committing the crime of Zina, he or she is to be punished by stoning to death. This is established by the practise of the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam. If they are not punished in this world and die without repentance (by regretting, leaving the sin, and so forth), they will be punished in the Fire with whips of fire.
In a tradition transmitted by Bukhari, on the authority of Samurah ibn Jundab (raa), concerning a dream of the Prophet in which the Prophet accompanied by Jibreel and Mikaail, the Prophet (saws) said: "We went on and arrived near a pit which was like an oven, out of which we could hear cries. We glanced into it and saw naked men and women, who cried out when the flames reached them from below. I asked, "Who are these, o Jibreel?" He replied: "Males and females who have committed fornication."
In explaining the meaning of the verse concerning Hell, "It has seven gates, to each of these gates a class (of sinners) is assigned." (15:44); `Ataa says: "The most severe of these gates in terms of heat, pain, sorrow, and stinking air is the gate for the doers of fornication, who did it (even) after knowing the awfulness of it."
Homosexuality
By Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

Homosexuality and lesbianism have been dubbed “alternative life-styles,” “personal preference,” “a natural variation,” etc. in the West today. Where homosexuality was considered an illness by the Association of Psychiatrists, it is now removed from the list and replaced by homophobia (the dislike of homosexuals and homosexuality). Consequently, Islam and Muslims are considered intolerant and biased due to their continued opposition. Arguments in favor of tolerance to homosexuals are based on the assumption that homosexual behavior is biologically based and not merely learned from society.
1. Early opposition to homosexuality was based on the argument that such behavior was unnatural. Sodomy cannot produce children which is one of the main natural consequences of sexual relations. “Mother Nature” did not make us that way, it was argued. To counter such arguments homosexual researchers scoured the earth until they found supposed homosexual behavior among the animal kingdom. They found that the males of some species of exotic fishes off the coast of Japan imitated the behavior of females of the species in order to prevent other males from impregnating their mates, and some rare butterflies from islands of the coast of Africa also had males exhibiting female behavior during mating season, etc. However, if the animal kingdom is to be used to justify human behavior, there also exists a spider in South America, whose female is much larger than the male. When mating is complete, the female eats her mate.
2. During the 80’s it was claimed that a gland in the base of the brain which is small in women and large in men was found to be small among homosexuals. However, this evidence, while seeming incontrovertible to the layman, was immediately refuted by scientists. The data was taken from cross-sections of the brains of dead adult humans whose sexual preference was identified prior to death. Consequently, the reduced size among homosexuals could have been a result of the practice and not its cause. That is, they could have been born with normal sized glands which then became small due to their deviant lifestyle.
3. Recently genetics has become the most commonly used foundation for the pro-gay argument. In 1993 Dr. Dean Hamer, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute, claimed to have discovered “the first concrete evidence that ‘gay genes’ really do exist.” Homosexual orientation was supposedly transmitted to males on the X chromosome from the mother. Hamer’s findings, published in the prestigious journal Science, transformed his colorless career as a government scientist into a dynamic media personality and penned his memoirs. He gave expert testimony to the Colorado Supreme Court that formed the basis of the victorious decision striking down anti-gay Proposition 2. However, a replication of his study at the University of Western Ontario failed to find any linkage whatsoever between the X chromosome and sexual orientation. It was also found that Hamer’s study lacked a control group; a fundamental principle of scientific research. Furthermore, in June 1994, the Chicago Tribune reported that a junior researcher in Hamer’s laboratory who assisted in the gene mapping in the homosexuality study, alleged that he selectively reported his data. She was then summarily dismissed from her post-doctoral fellowship in Hamer’s lab. But a National Institutes of Health investigation substantiated her claims and gave her another position in a different lab. Though Dr. Hamer was coy about his own sexuality in his memoirs, he later admitted in his lectures that the was gay.
4. It should be noted that Islam, in its final form, did not introduce anti-gay legislature to the world. The texts of the Torah are replete with clear condemnation of such practices.
5. The consequence of AIDS is enough to prove that homosexuality is evil and dangerous to society. The early spread of AIDS was concentrated among the homosexual community. It later spread to the heterosexual community through blood transfusions and intravenous drug usage and so-called bisexuals. And continues on a rampage among promiscuous heterosexuals.
6. Islam considers homosexuality to be the result of a choice. It is inconceivable that God made people homosexuals then declared it a crime and prescribed punishments for it in both this life and the next. To accept such a proposition is to accept that God is unjust. Inclinations can exist within humans for a variety of natural and unnatural acts, from fornication to rape and from necrophilia to bestiality. These inclinations may come from jinn-suggestions, media influence, or even from human whisperings or direct contact. Human beings are not like robots who only do what they are programmed to do. Humans choose and God holds them responsible for their choices. Were homosexuality a product of genetic destiny, it would be unfair for God to criminalize it and punish those who practice it. Currently, some scientists are even claiming that murder is of genetic origin. To accept that would mean to excuse murderers and tolerate murder.
7. Islam instructs parents to separate their children in their beds by the age of ten in order to avoid sexual experiences which may result from childhood experimentation. Such experiences may be reinforced by contacts in schools and through abuse from adults. Also the distinctions between male and female are strongly made in Islamic teachings. The Prophet cursed men who imitated women and women who imitated men. The Western fashion industry is controlled by homosexuals who attempt to blur the distinction between males and females in order to make their behavior more acceptable. Consequently, men’s fashion has become more feminine in style and color and women are now wearing three-piece suits, ties and hats and traditionally men’s shoes. These distinctions may be relative and vary from society to society. For example, in Scotland men traditionally wear little knee-length dresses called “kilts”. In Scotland it would not be considered imitation of females, but in a society where only women wear such dress it would be considered imitation
The Islamic Ruling Concerning Homosexuality
AlJumuah Magazine, Sha`ban 1416

Islam considers homosexuality to be a sexual deviation leading to a perverted act which goes against the natural order Allah intended for mankind. It is a corruption of the man's sexuality and a crime against the opposite sex. Therefore, the Islamic shari'ah strictly prohibits the practice of this perverted act. This is mentioned in many places in the holy Qur'an.
The story of the people of the prophet Lut who were addicted to this practice, is the best example. Prophet Lut, alayhessalam said to his people: "Verily, you do sodomy with men, and rob the wayfarer! And practice all wickedness in your meetings," (Al-A-nkabut, 29:29). And he said to them: "Of all the creatures ofthe world, will you approach males, and leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your wives? Nay, you are a trespassing people!" (Al-Shu'ara', 26:165-166) But their answer to Prophet Lut, alayhessalam, was: "Bring us the Wrath of Allah if you are telling us the Truth." (Al-Ankabut, 29:29). And so Allah gave them the punishment they deserved: "And We rained on them a rain of torment. And how evil was the rain of those who had been warned," (Al-Shu'ara', 26:173).
Just as a person who has a sexual urge should not satsfy it by committing zina, a person who has this perverted thought should not act upon it. In order to maintain the purity of the Muslim society, most Muslim scholars have ruled that the punishment for this act should be the same as for zina (i.e. one hundred whiplashes for the man who has never married, and death by stoning for the married man). Some have even ruled that it should be death for both partners, because the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said: "Kill the doer and the one to whom it was done." (Related by Al-Bayhaqi).
What Does Islam Say About Homosexuality?
Taken from the book titled 'Common Questions People Ask About Islam' by Shabir Ally

Islam teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and punishable by God. This teaching comes not from human beings, but from the Creator of all humans. God tells us in His own words how He punished the people of Lot for their homosexual behaviour.
The story of prophet Lot, on whom be peace, finds mention in several Qur'anic passages, especially Chapter 26:160-175 which reads:
"The people of Lut rejected the apostles. Behold, their brother Lut said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)? "I am to you an apostle worthy of all trust. "So fear God and obey me. "No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds. "Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males, "And leave those whom God has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!" They said: "If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!" He said: "I do detest your doings." "O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!" So We delivered him and his family,- all Except an old woman who lingered behind. But the rest We destroyed utterly. We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)! Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might Most Merciful."
From these passages we learn that God saved Lot and the righteous ones of his family, and rained on the rest a shower of brimstone, so they were utterly destroyed. This is mentioned in the Qur'an not only for the sake of information, but mainly to serve as a warning to anyone who dares to repeat such acts.
Muslim believe that every human action leads to consequences. Good actions entail good results, and evil actions entail evil consequences. Some of these consequences may not become known for many years after a certain action. The consequences of some actions will become manifest only after death when one enters a new, everlasting life.... A common mistake among humans is that if they don't see any negative consequences for their actions they consider it harmless. Human experience has taught us that a source of superior knowledge can be of tremendous benefit to humans.... God, the source of all knowledge, warns us of His punishment if people perpetrate homosexual acts. Let us pay attention and learn the easy way.
Some will say that a person may be born with homosexual tendencies. We say that everyone is a free agent. God lays before us two paths and has given us knowledge of where these paths lead. One is the path to which the devil call us. We must avoid that. One is the path leading to paradise. We must stick to that one. Everyone experiences evil prompting from time to time. We must resist those with all our might. If one feels a tendency to do something that God prohibits, he or she should seek help from a community of loving, caring, believers who would understand his or her difficulty and help him or her overcome it.
A common ploy of the devil is to convince people that they cannot avoid sin. Then they do not even try. But God promises that the devil can have no lasting power over those who sincerely seek God (see Qur'an 15:42)
Finally, our bodies are given to us in trust from God. One should not use his or her body contrary to the user guide provided by its Maker. Consenting adults also need God's consent.
Should Prostitution be Decriminalized?
By: Dr. Shaykh Syed Mutawalli Ad-Darsh

Basic Principles:
1. Criminalising (making something illegal) or decriminalising (making it legal, or at least tolerated) is the prerogative of Allah;
2. When the text of the Qur'an or the Sunnah are authentic in their authority and clear in their meaning then no one has the authority to rule over them;
3. The legality or illegality of a practice should follow the Qur'anic maxim: "To make lawful to them what is good and forbid them whet is evil" (7:157).
4. The honour, integrity and chastity of the male and the female is one of the five universal principles protected by all revealed religions.
The moral atmosphere in many societies which are increasingly secular in outlook, and where legislation reflects the norms and customs of the culture and practice, has become 'liberal' and individuals have the 'freedom' to indulge in acts which give them personal satisfaction, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. Such a moral atmosphere may justify the decriminalisation of prostitution. Prostitution, it is argued, is not worse than homosexual practices which are accepted, legalised and tolerated in societies nowadays. For a man or a woman prostitute, the difference between their action and that of lesbians and homosexuals is the degradation of the human body by charging a price for hiring it. Those who argue in favour of decriminalisation say that this is an activity deemed to entertain the paying partner, as a dancer or an actor entertains those who watch them act. After all, legislation nowadays is responding to the notion of personal freedom and the absence of coercion in the profession of prostitutes. This type of argument is gaining ground in modem 'tolerant' society. The Synod Committee on social matters showed in a recent report that it was in favour of considering sexual relations outside marriage as no longer sinful, and this goes a long way towards helping the second act, prostitution, win its argument for decriminalisation.
For Muslims the question of legality is entirely outside the scope of human power. It is purely the prerogative of Allah, our Creator. To assign this area to a human being is to give that person, institution or organisation the right to be worshipped. When the Qur'anic verse, "They have made their rabbis and their monks, and the Messiah, the son of Mary, as lords besides Allah", ( 9:31) was recited in the presence of Adiyy b. Hatim, a convert from Christianity, he said: "O Messenger of Allah, they did not worship them". The Messenger said to him: "Did they not prohibit for them what was legal? Did they not allow them what was prohibited?" To this Adiyy said: "Yes". The Prophet then said: "This amounted to worshipping them". The Qur'an has made clear it that no-one has an authority except Allah. In the Qur'an Allah says:
"Do not (falsely) declare: "That is lawful and that is forbidden, in order to invent falsehood about Allah. These who invent falsehoods about Allah shall never prosper" (16:116).
Turning to the Qur'anic attitude towards prostitution we find that, as with many social practices that it aimed at reforming, it moved in a gradual way. Prostitution was widely practised in a number of forms and it was tolerated and accepted as one of the social practices. It was condemned in a number of early Makkah Qur'anic verses as an immoral practice which was prohibited by Allah, but there was no specific punishment for it.
In the Qur'an we read: "And these who do not invoke another god, and do not slay the living soul, which Allah has forbidden, except by right, nor commit adultery - and any that does this (not only) meets punishment (but) the Penalty on the Day of Judgement will be doubled to him, and he will dwell there in ignominy..." (25: 68). On this occasion the Qur'an was portraying a decent picture of the morality of the servants of the Compassionate and giving the severest warning to those who behave otherwise, but the punishment mentioned was in the Afterlife.
The same attitude is seen again in "Do not approach adultery for it is an indecent thing and an evil way" (17:32). It can be noticed here that the command to keep away from coming near to adultery is explained rationally - that it is an act of degradation, lewdness and a dangerous trend in human society. But even with this rationalisation of the prohibition there was still no punishment.
But once the Muslim community was established and the authority of the Messenger of Allah was confirmed and was free from subjugation to any other social order, the rules and regulations dealing with this deviation in human behaviour were revealed to the Prophet to put into practice. An early sign of these new regulations came in Ch 4, verses 15-16 where it was prescribed that women who commit adultery were to be imprisoned indefinitely until their death or until a new regulation came. Verses 16 prescribed some sort of punishment for men who were guilty of homosexual acts until they were deterred from this heinous crime. Soon afterwards the final regulatory and prescribed punishments were revealed in Chapter 24, The Light. The first verses of this chapter set out the regulations specifying the punishment, the establishment of the crime, the different categories of those who commit it (virgin or married), the prohibition of marrying those who are known to indulge in this act, and finally the prohibition and punishment of those who falsely accuse someone of committing this crime. The statements of the Prophet came to expand and detail all the rules and regulations on this matter. As a result, any physical relationship outside marriage was criminalised and punishable. A whole core of legal regulatory ordinances became part of the penal Islamic legal system. It is now firmly established that this act is permanently penalised, criminalised and punishable physically as well as socially, and no-one except a non-believer, would argue about its nature.
There are many safeguards and mitigating circumstances to protect the innocent and to stop speculative talk about the integrity and good nature of those who may be involved. But these are legal protective and preventative measures for cases where the crime was not established, and do not in any way infringe upon the validity or the applicability of the rules, and definitely not their stoppage or abrogation.
The Nature Of Regulations
The Islamic rules and regulations are not arbitrarily imposed upon human society, They follow a rationale given in the Qur'an itself and reflects the spirit of care, compassion and reasoning. This is clearly stated in the Qur'an, giving the general framework of the Islamic legal system. In Ch.7, verse 157, Allah Most High defined the mission of the Prophet in terms of these moral and rational concepts "….he enjoins on them what is good and forbids them what is evil, and he makes the pure things lawful for them and forbids them from the impure, he relieves them from their burdens and frees them from the fetters which were upon them. So those who believe in him and support him and help him (in his task), and follow the Light which has been revealed to him, those surely attain success. " So Muslims believe that this is the aim of the Islamic way of life in general and of the rules and regulations in particular. Any particular legal issue has to be judged in the light of this general moral framework.
The Aim Of This Particular Piece Of Legislation
Beside the general moral framework of the Islamic legislation, in every particular issue there are certain objectives to be attained. The family in Islam is the bedrock of the social order. It has to be built on a solid foundation which would allow it to survive the challenges, the tensions and the strains of a life-long relationship.
It has, at the same time, to cater for and protect those who are involved in it - wife, husband, children and all those who have a stake in its stability and continuity. There are basic legal obligations between all these members, those who are covered by the term 'extended family'. The honour of those who are involved is a very important concept as far as the good name of relations is concerned, as far as the responsibility, both morally and financially, for the upbringing of the children is concerned and as far as those who are entitled to carry the name of the family and inherit its fortune are concerned. All these rights stem from a clearly established relationship. The safety and tranquillity of those who live in the same area, and the eradication of the sources of tension and conflict are also important. All these are legitimate objectives which have to protected and realised.
The Question, Finally, Is Whether There Is Any Need, Within The Islamic Social Regulation, For Prostitution?
The answer to this question is to be sought in the regulations dealing with the sexual relationship. In Islam, sex is considered to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of life. In the words of this life, "Life is sheer enjoyment. The best of its enjoyment is a decent good wife." In a Hadith the Prophet (s.A.w.) said: "The faithful has not acquired a greater thing in this life after his faith in God, than a decent, good wife. If he looks at her he will be pleased, if he asks of her something she will oblige and if he is away she will keep chaste and look after his wealth."
He advised young people who were physically and financially able to marry to get married, for this is the best way to preserve young people's chastity and integrity. Allah Most High commanded the guardians of those who are in need of marriage to help them to accomplish it.
The Qur'an went on to give that good promise: "And marry those among you who are single and the virtuous ones among your servants, male or female, and if they are poor, God will provide for them out of his bounty," (24: 32.)
Al-Islam did not put a strain nor impose restrictions on those who wish to get married, male or female. Once married, the financial responsibilities fall upon the shoulders of the man. Both are to live within their own means. If their earnings are not enough the state should take care of them. If there is no such social system, local communities should share among themselves the means to enable families to survive in an honourable, but humble way.
There is no reason for men or women to claim that they have to resort to this illegal immoral practice out of financial or physical need. Marriage is an easy, simple, natural way of satisfying the basic human need. Only when people become greedy, materialistic and unprincipled do they resort to this heinous practice, which spreads diseases and illegitimacy and brings into this world children who suffer the consequences of the mistakes of others.
Allah Most High says in the Qur'an: "Indeed those who love that obscenity should be spread among the believers, shall have a painful chastisement in this life and in the Hereafter, and Allah knows but you do not know," (24:19).
And Allah says the Truth and guides to the right way.

Shaykh Syed Mutawalli Ad-Darsh. 9 August 1996.