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Sexuality in Islam is largely described by the Quran, the sayings of Muhammad (hadith), and the rulings of religious leaders' (fatwa) as being confined to marital relationships between men and women. While most traditions discourage celibacy, all encourage strict chastity and modesty with regards to any relationships across gender lines, holding forth that intimacy as perceived within Islam -- encompassing a swathe of life more broad than strictly sex — is largely to be reserved for marriage. This sensitivity to gender difference and modesty (hijab) outside of marriage can be seen in current prominent aspects of Islam—interpretations of Islamic dress and degrees of gender segregation, for example.
While prohibitions against extra-marital sexual relationships are strong, sex itself is not a taboo subject. Permissible sexual relationships are described in Islamic sources as great wells of love and closeness for the couple involved. Specific occasions — most notably daytime fasting and menstruation — are times forbidden for intercourse, though not for other ways of touching and being close to one another. Issues such as abortion (other than for medical risk to the pregnant woman) and homosexuality are also strictly forbidden; contraceptive use is permitted for birth control.
To varying degrees Islamic law explicitly states that both men and women are entitled to sexual gratification in marriage; the failure or inability to provide this may be cited as grounds for divorce initiated by either the wife or husband. Throughout the history of Islamic exegetical traditions, philosophies, and law, much has been written to encourage, often in quite frank and explicit terms, Muslims to cultivate between themselves in their marriages both sexual passion and tenderness.
Sex is viewed in terms of both its procreational value and as a way to strengthen the bonds between a couple.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a 21st century Sunni Islamic scholar states:
| “ | The preservation of the human species is unquestionably the primary objective of marriage, and such preservation of the species requires continued reproduction.[1] | ” |
Islam obligates a married couple to try and have children. The theological understanding and reasons for this are varied, but this essentially means that a spouse is encouraged, religiously, to have sex with their partner on request. However, it is considered forbidden (Haram) for a man to have sex with his wife during her period. This encouragement of conjugal relations is on both partners, and while neither partner can force the other to comply, constant refusal to have sex is regarded as a valid reason for talaq or khula.
An oft-repeated hadith emphasize the granting of divine reward for sex within marriage:
[Sahih Muslim]
Ibn Abidin, a 19th century Sunni Hanafi Islamic scholar writes:[2]
| “ | From Adam till now, including the inhabitants of Jannah, there exists no Ibadat like Nikah and sex and it is a testament of iman, and Nikah with the exception of iman is an act of worship that cannot be compared as copulating is the means via which the Muslim Ummah increases in its size | ” |
According to Islamic law, there are no sayings regarding sexual techniques. However there are Hadith which stress the importance of fulling the females desire by commencing loving words and sensual caressing prior to sexual intercourse.
Adultery, Fornication & Homosexuality is strictly, and repeatedly forbidden in the Qur'an and Hadith. The lack of an English word to encompass all three acts other than the phrase 'extramarital sexual intercourse' leads to much literature (including articles in Wikipedia) using the word adultery to erroneously conveying the word zina used in Arabic which covers all three acts.
This same idea can be found in the Old Testament passage below:
22. If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. 23. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24. Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you. Deuteronomy 22:22-24 (KJV)
While the strictest forms can prescribe the death penalty for adultery when witnessed by four people, which is for the married - based on Mosaic Law and confirmed by Mohammed in Hadith quoted above due to verse 89, chapter 6, of Qur'an which enjoins following the ordinances given to preceding prophets unless abrogated later - the unmarried fornicator and fornicatrix are punished by 100 lashes, on the condition that there were four witnesses to the very act as in the case for adultery.
One thing of note here is that the Qur'an orders that punishments are carried out in public and not secretly to act as a deterrent to others.
The requirement of four witnesses to any act of zina means that in reality it is seldom punished other than when the perpetrators confess. If a person makes accusation of others committing zina and he is unable to bring along four witnesses to the act, then such person is liable to 80 stripes as punishment for the slander, as without witnesses it is not regarded as an accusation to be made lightly and intended to discourage rumour-mongering (Qur'an 24: 4)
Qur'an strictly prohibited homosexuality through the story of Lot (see Qur'an verses:7:80-84,11:69-83, 29:28-35), similarly rendered to the story as it appears in the Biblical Book of Genesis, as well as through a verse addressed directly to Muhammad and his followers, which reads:
In Islam prostitution is forbidden on all grounds. It is considered a sin in its form. As referenced here: Sahih al-Bukhari, 3:34:439
Allah's Apostle forbade taking the price of a dog, money earned by prostitution and the earnings of a soothsayer—Abu Mas'ud Al-Ansari
Ma malakat aymanukum is the term for slaves, which may be captives of war. A male master may have sexual intercourse with his female slave, but only if he marries her before.
Rape is forbidden under Islamic law. It is defined as having extramarital intercourse by force or fear. According to Islamic law Sharia it is classified as Hirabah, or violent crime under a category of causing disorder in the land due to Qur'an ordinances about those who create anarchy (Arabic -Fasad), similar to highway robbery as it puts fear in people going out or losing their property through fear of violence.
Under Islam sex is regarded as loving act within marriage and should be by mutual consent however there is no concept of rape within marriage in the Sharia; a wife is deemed to have accepted conjugal relations as part of the marriage contract. She can only refuse on grounds which are specified as prohibited for sexual intercourse such as when she is fasting, menstruating, or undergoing post-natal puerperal discharge, or whilst on Hajj or Umrah.[1]
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a contemporary Sunni Muslim scholar, states that sodomy is prohibited. The Quran says "And they ask thee concerning menstruation. Say, 'It is a harmful thing, so keep away from women during menstruation, and go not in unto them until they are clean. But when they have cleansed themselves, go in unto them as Allah has commanded you. Allah loves those who keep themselves clean.'" (2:222) A wife must abstain from it should her husband demand it, and may seek divorce over it if her husband persists or tries to force her,[3] as the act is forbidden in the Islamic marriage contract. The act in itself, however, doesn't nullify the marriage, and the wife must seek divorce in order to separate from the husband. [4]
Muslim scholars justify the prohibition on the basis of the Quranic verse 2:223, saying that it commands intercourse only in the vagina (which will lead to the birth of children). The vaginal intercourse may be in any manner the couple wishes, that is, from behind or from the front, sitting or with the wife lying on her back or on her side. There are also several Hadith which prohibit sodomy.
Sexual intercourse is prohibited during menstruation, for forty days after childbirth (puerperium), during the daylight hours whilst fasting, and on pilgrimage.[5]
Islamic sexual hygienical jurisprudence is a prominent topic in Islamic jurisprudence (Arabic: fiqh), due to its relevance to the issues prominent in everyday life.
Regarding sexual intercourse during the month of Ramadan:
Through emulation of the actions of Muhammad and interpretation, this same type of prohibition is extended to voluntary fasts (those which fall outside of Ramadan) as well. Select interpreters have held that the right to sexual gratification in marriage is strong enough that a married woman should seek her husband's approval before choosing days to fast; on this contemporary opinions and practices vary.
The bottom line is a man may share the bed and kiss or cuddle with his wife but he is not allowed to have sexual intercourse with her in those days, because it is not good for either of them.
The Quran & Hadith do not mention masturbation directly, yet it is not encouraged in most traditions of Islamic Jurisprudence. Extreme interpretations of Shi'a forbid masturbation outright; while most wahbi schools do not. Yusuf al-Qaradawi in his book 'Al Halal wa Al Haram fil Islam' i.e. The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam deems it much preferable to prohibition as the latter may lead to fornication,a major sin. He also states that as caressing and mutual stimulation is encouraged, which could be regarded as mutual masturbation in one sense, it would be illogical to approve foreplay whilst condemning masturbation. However all scholars accept there are social and psychological negative aspects to masturbation and strongly encourage marriage as legitimate means for sex and admonish celibacy.
As the withdrawal method or coitus interruptus (Arabic - Al-azl) was used by pre-Islamic Arabs and was not prohibited by prophet Muhammad to early converts to Islam, it is accepted by analogical deduction (ijtihad) that other forms of contraception e.g. contraceptive pill is permitted. All schools of jurisprudence concur with its permissibility but not with encouraging it for social or financial reasons.
We used to practice coitus interruptus while the Quran was being revealed. Jabir added: We used to practice coitus interruptus during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle while the Quran was being revealed.[6]—Jabir ibn Abdullah from Sahih Bukhari
A man said: Apostle of Allah, I have a slave-girl and I withdraw from her (while having intercourse), and I dislike that she becomes pregnant. I intend (by intercourse) what the men intend by it. The Jews say that withdrawal method (Al-azl) is like burying the living girls on a small scale. He (the Prophet) said: The Jews told a lie. If Allah intends to create it, you cannot turn it away.[7]—Hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud
"O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives' booties as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?" The Prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence."[8]—Hadith from Sahih Bukhari
Qur'an forbids the killing of children for the fear of poverty or sustenance.
Islam does not traditionally hold that ensoulment occurs at the point of conception. Two passages in the Qur'an describe the fetal development process:
There is no room for abortion in Islam, even at embryonic and fetal stage. All the four mainstream schools of thought in Islam i.e. Hanfi, Shafi, Maleki and Hanbli agree on this. Only very few contemporary scholars who are not of the main stream Islam might say slightly something different. It is not allowed in Islam to use physical barriers (like condoms, diaohrams, etc) or use medicines (tablets, capsules, injections, etc).
Contemporary scholarship, however, is more likely to strongly restrict abortion, on the grounds that modern technology has permitted us to perceive life in the womb earlier than was previously possible. All schools of thought, traditional and modern, make allowances for circumstances threatening the health or life of the mother.
Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, a contemporary scholar in a lecture stated that it was murder if done after three months and before that it was a crime, but not to the degree of murder.