Tarbiyah 7/7 - Sex

Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad.

I'll be speaking about a topic that is not usually discussed in public and that is sex and Islam. What is Islam's view on sex and sexuality? Is it something that we shun away from? Is it a shameful act or is it natural and is it something positive and good?

The Holy Qur'an openly speaks about marriage and sex and sexuality. One of the most commonly known verses in the Holy Qur'an within the topic of marriage is the Ayat that says: "Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. Wa min Ayatiheee an khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwaajan, litaskunu ilayha" (30:21). What a beautiful Ayat where it speaks about God creating a pair for you, in order for you to have that inner peace for you to feel tranquil with.

Now of course, this means that there is that inner urge embedded within us as human beings, the Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, created within our nature and it needs to be fulfilled. God never says suppress your sexuality or suppress your inclination to engage in sex. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, says do it responsibly, be accountable. There needs to be restrictions as far as how and who to engage in this intimacy with.

Marriage is one way of fulfilment of this natural sexual urge. And this is why Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, has emphasized it in the Holy Qur'an. And this is why Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, has said: marriage is my Sunnah. He has said Marriage is half of my religion, half of our religion. Because if you were able to secure that much of your natural urge, then everything else becomes very, very easy.

So, sex and sexuality, or engaging in intimacy with the opposite gender, is a wonderful thing. It's a natural thing. It's something that will really bring about the inner peace and harmony and tranquillity that all of us are looking for.

We don't believe in self-denial, we don't believe in celibacy. We don't believe in living a monastic life. We believe that every person should get married, every person should have a partner. Not only for the purpose of sexual fulfilment and sexual pleasure, but also for all of the other reasons why Islam emphasizes so much on marriage.

Because it is a highly recommended thing. It is half of our religion, and most importantly, it is something that I am engaging with as far as my nature is concerned. There are so many mustahab things and mustahab acts within the very topic of intimacy. We just need to read about it and understand it and we will see that this is such a wonderful thing that a person can be involved in.

So no, sex is not something that is a shameful act. It is something that is good, it is positive, it is mustahab, it is recommended, and it brings about all of those other very good issues that we all know of as far as Islam is concerned.

I think this is enough for me to mention and hopefully it will trigger some further curiosity for my dear brothers and sisters to do some investigation, and reading, and research into this very important topic, and hopefully bring about many fruits where we can become of more benefits to the rest of society, by minimizing the sins that people commit, and also by maximizing this highly recommended practice of marriage, especially for people at a younger age.

Wa al-hamdulil-Lahi Rabbi al-'Alamin. Wa as-salat wa as-salam 'ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa aalihi, at-tahirin.