Islamic Morality And Todays World

Alhamdulillah, and salaat and salaam upon Rasoolillah Muhammad and upon his family and followers until the end of time, ameen.

In case you hadn’t noticed, we live in very dangerous times. No doubt there are many areas where this statement applies. The proliferation of wars, civil strife, economic sanction, takeovers and forced expulsion, genocide, natural disaster, environmental pollution, political oppression, street crime, you name it. At this time however, we would like to offer a few words on a dangerous situation regarding one of the most fundamental aspects of human behavior that if abused can lead to an insidious form of genocide. Namely, the destruction of people through immoral sexual relationships.

This is a vast topic indeed, so we will not in any way attempt to give it a full treatment. We hope now only to make several points by looking at what the situation is today and how Islam and Muslims are viewed with regards to it. We pray that we will be able to academically deal with the Islamic morale code in detail in the future, inshaa Allah. It can neither be denied that any given society may undergo trends nor that these trends usually have an underlying cause or source and they don’t just suddenly “turn up” but rather develop over time.

In the west in particular, sexual relationships are generally viewed as the private preference of each individual. No one has the right to determine with whom, or how one conducts one’s sex life. What occurs between consenting adults, no matter what sex or how many, is usually condoned. We believe that these beliefs and principles (along with others) have chiefly contributed to the following realities of today’s world.

The Current Reality

Premarital sex between heterosexuals is considered quite acceptable, normal, well within the bounds of morality, and indeed desirable. It has been this way for a long time and could honestly be said to be part of the “American Way”. Dating begins at a very young age and every socially well-adjusted youngster is expected to have several girlfriends and boyfriends by a certain age. Couples are expected to live together and getting married has long ceased to be considered as a major aim in life. Those who grow up in the West are weaned on sex in both subtle and not so subtle ways. It is quickly learned through T.V. shows, commercials, movies, advertisements, songs, you name it, that being sexy is a desired goal and aim in life.

Even comic books abound with superheroes and heroines with fantastically well-proportioned bodies and they lead sexually active private lives where little is left to the imagination. Animated cartoon characters from Betty Boop to Jessica Rabbit make the message crystal clear about what makes a female desirable. The top selling video and computer games feature female characters with sexy bodies whose biggest audiences are adolescent boys and young men. Females are intensely focused on being sexually attractive and are conditioned to be so from the time they get their first Barbie. This is what makes the fashion, cosmetic and entertainment industries thrive.