A question was asked, why is adultery prohibited in Islam.
Based on my study of the issue, my initial answer is as follows (from another thread). Please feel free to add your views.
… (In Islam) adultery is considered both a sin and a crime. If I were to speculate on the reason why it is also considered a crime, then I would suggest that maybe because it corrupts the society. There is evidence that adultery was a punishable offence in the times of Prophet (Sallah o Alaihay Wasalam).
Just to give you an example from present day times: Why don’t the United States government allow people to roam around naked on the street? Why does the state of California and 48 other states do not allow prostitution? Why are there public nudity laws? Why do police arrest people for solicitation of sex? Why is sex between two people not deemed a private affair, outside the preview of the state (police) as long as it is consentual, even if one person is paying the other person for such an act?
Because all these things effect the public decency. You can set the bar lower or higher, but you set it somewhere. In Islam it is set at no extra-marital sex (by consent or not). In US, it is no-sex-for-money. In some other places the bar may be even lower.
Even though we find it strange that a Muslim would ask such a question about matters which are so clear and undisputed, the answer is simply that these things are haraam because Allaah, Whom we must obey, has forbidden them. He tells us in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meanings):
“And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily, it is a faahishah (a great sin) and an evil way.” [al-Israa’ 17:32]
So we must avoid all that which Allaah has forbidden, out of faith in His laws, in the hope of His reward and in fear of His punishment. We must also believe that Allaah does not forbid anything in Islamic sharee’ah except that which is harmful and corrupt, whether we understand this rationally or not.
which religen allows adultery?
technically muslim male comits bigamy in us if he marries more than
one wife and be put in jail eventhough it may be allowed under islam.
Initially this question was not raised by a muslim. As a muslim, please feel free to quote Quranic ayats to support your point of view, though you may also want to include valid logical arguments to substantiate your view on this matter.
Ana,
My apologies. Yes you are right, because under Islamic jurisprudence, adultery is both a sin and a crime with specified punishments prescribed. Whatever our Creator may have selected as a punishment is something we can not speculate, so the emphasis is on this world and the punishment here.
rvikz, has a valid point that (probably) no religion allows adultery. All of them shun it, though the extent of punishment may vary. In modern times, followers of some religions may have eliminated the punishments altogether on this matter.
Some participants suggested that state has no business interfering in adults engaged in adultery. Why does (an Islamic) state has to get involved and prescribe punishment for some thing which two adults do with mutual consent?
My answer is provided in the first post with some questions on why I think every society still tries to enforce public morality and decency through punishments. Islam is not unique in that, although, obviously the bar is much higher in Islam compared to modern day secular democracies. The essential premise of the argument remains.
By Shria you mean the system of laws (Judiciary) ordained by Quran and Sunnah. So if you take out the form of governing, In Saudi Arabia they follow Imam HanBal's Fiqh (understanding of Islamic judiciary) to its max (almost 100%).
to safe guard the sanctity of marriage, to give a clear signal to all that marrige is a commitment and the breaking of that commitment and that trust is a criminal act that carries severe punishment ??
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*Originally posted by Serendipiti: *
to safe guard the sanctity of marriage, to give a clear signal to all that marrige is a commitment and the breaking of that commitment and that trust is a criminal act that carries severe punishment ??
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CH
one doesnt HAVE to have four wives and generally most people dont.
however, would u rather a person committed adultery or gave the second woman as much legal rights and protection as his first wife? i know of women who r quite happy to b the second wife or for their husbands to have other wives. u and i may not understand it but surely it is better then adultery!
and to preempt ur next question- y isnt a woman allowed four husbands i am sure u have heard the answer to those questions already, i couldnt add to it cept i certainly wouldnt want four husbands!!
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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
coOoLBreeze,
Initially this question was not raised by a muslim. As a muslim, please feel free to quote Quranic ayats to support your point of view, though you may also want to include valid logical arguments to substantiate your view on this matter.
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wel Faisal, It have a Quranic Verse, which clearly states that its prohibited by ALLAH, and it simply means that he cannot argue with ALLAH that why its prohibited. coz ALLAH only forbids something which is corrupt harmfull and bad for the human being. We just have to follow the Orders.
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*Originally posted by MiniMe: *
By Shria you mean the system of laws (Judiciary) ordained by Quran and Sunnah. So if you take out the form of governing, In Saudi Arabia they follow Imam HanBal's Fiqh (understanding of Islamic judiciary) to its max (almost 100%).
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not 100 %.. but you can say some what near to it.. you will find so many prohibited and illegal things here ..
wel Faisal, It have a Quranic Verse, which clearly states that its prohibited by ALLAH, and it simply means that he cannot argue with ALLAH that why its prohibited. coz ALLAH only forbids something which is corrupt harmfull and bad for the human being. We just have to follow the Orders.
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That won't serve as a valid point for a non muslim, would it?
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious (Al quran 6:125)
coolbreeze, I'm not even going to sit here and try to change the way you think. However, I'll say this much, that if you think Islam is just about following "orders", you've missed the whole beauty of Islam
Islam is a complete religion. If it was only about following orders and not understanding why we must follow them, or why we SHOULD follow them, then that doesn't make Islam a complete religion.
One guppy, who i once thought was of high religiously intellectual character, told me the same thing: that some things are just ordered and hence we must follow them. Like Namaz. He asked me, what is the point behind namaz, other than to follow an order?
I never replied to him, since his ignorance disgusted me so much. However, here is the reply:
Namaz :
its a form of mediation. It has both psychological and physical benefits. It puts you in comfort after a long day, and the spacing of 5 times a day keeps your stress level low at a constant rate throughout the day. The results are quite similar to yoga or any other meditation.
Physically, it helps circulate your blood thru you body. When you're sitting or standing around the desk or at an operating table or in a court room ,etc, you're body gets stiff and blood circulation becomes a problem. 5 times, (or three or whatever) helps to keep blood circulating, excercizes your limbs, etc. IN fact, the whole procedure entails so many positions - bending, sitting, pulling up your body, etc that it gives u a mini-workout (although it wont turn you into fabio)
its a communication with God. Do I even need to explain this one?
Likewise, prohibition of Adultery has its rationales:
You are hurting your spouse. The pain is absolutely horrid to find out your spouse cheated on you. To the point that it can affect the mental/physical health of the victimized spouse. How can such a crime go unpunished?
YOU PROMISE to be faithful when you got married, and u break this promise. This is morally wrong and such a clear ishaara as to what your character is.
Self-control is a big concept in Islam, which I'm afraid doesn't get a lot of attention. If you can't control yourself to stick with your spouse, that shows you're of weak faith and weak character.
Think about the life of the person you cheated with. They've got a spouse - this hurts their spouse too --- so now two victims of a crime.
If there is no other spouse, well, you've screwed up the reputation of a perfectly good virgin, or at least who people thought of as a virgin. Not good, cuz now people might not want to marry them. Another life ruined.
Hmm...I'm sure there is plenty of thought-provoking reasons that I just can't come up with right now. I think the one of victimized spouses is what cuts the cake though. Causing harm to another person is very punishable. I dont think you will be able to come up with many unpunished acts in Islam that involve the hurting of an innocent individual.
