Sexuality in Islam

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A mufti advises a woman whose son-in-law cannot consummate his marriage (Ottoman illustration, 1721).

Sexuality in Islam contains a wide range of views and laws, which are largely predicated on the Quran, and the sayings attributed to Muhammad (hadith) and the rulings of religious leaders (fatwa) confining sexual activity to marital relationships between men and women.[1][2] Sexual jurisprudence (Arabic: الفقه الجنسي[a]) and marital jurisprudence (Arabic: فقه النكاح[b]) are the codifications of Islamic scholarly perspectives and rulings on sexuality, which both in turn also contain components of Islamic family jurisprudence, Islamic marital jurisprudence, hygienical, criminal and bioethical jurisprudence.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

All instructions regarding sex in Islam are considered parts of, firstly, Taqwa or obedience and secondly, Iman or faithfulness to God.[9][10] Sensitivity to gender difference and modesty outside of marriage can be seen in current prominent aspects of Muslim cultures, such as interpretations of Islamic dress and degrees of gender segregation.[11] Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women (a practice known as polygyny).

The Quran and the hadiths allow only sex with married (nikāḥ) and "what the right hand owns".[12] This historically permitted men to have extramarital sex with concubines and sex slaves. Contraceptive use is permitted for birth control. Acts of homosexual intercourse are prohibited, although Muhammad, the main prophet of Islam, never forbade non-sexual relationships.[13]

  1. ^ Rassool, G. Hussein (2015). Islamic Counselling: An Introduction to theory and practice. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-44125-0. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ Ali, Kecia (2016). Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-78074-853-5. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ^ Mallat, Chibli; Connors, Jane Frances (1990). Islamic Family Law. Brill. pp. 55, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64. ISBN 978-1-85333-301-9. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ Cohn-Sherbok, Dan; Chryssides, George D.; El-Alami, Dawoud (2013). Love, Sex and Marriage: Insights from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. pp. XX, 88, 182, 196. ISBN 978-0-334-04405-5.
  5. ^ Khan, Muhammad Aftab (2006). Sex & Sexuality in Islam. Nashriyat. p. 296. ISBN 978-969-8983-04-8. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. ^ Warren, Christie S. (2010). Islamic Criminal Law: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 10, 11, 12. ISBN 978-0-19-980604-1. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. ^ Zia, Afiya Shehrbano (1994). Sex Crime in the Islamic Context: Rape, Class and Gender in Pakistan. ASR. pp. 7, 9, 32. ISBN 978-969-8217-23-5. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference IB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Halstead, Mark; Reiss, Michael (2 September 2003). Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice. Routledge. p. 284. ISBN 978-1-134-57200-7. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  10. ^ Curtis, Edward E. (18 May 2009). The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States. Columbia University Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-231-13957-1. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ^ Shah, Saeeda (2015). Education, Leadership and Islam: Theories, discourses and practices from an Islamic perspective. Routledge. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-135-05254-6. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. ^ Abd al-Ati, Hammudah. The family structure in Islam. Baltimore, MD: American Trust Publications, 1977.
  13. ^ Murray, Stephen O. (1997). Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814774687.


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