Islamic sexual hygienical jurisprudence

Views and laws about sexuality in Islam are largely predicated on the Quran, the sayings of Muhammad (''hadith'') and the rulings of religious leaders ('' fatwa'') confining sexual activity to marital relationships between men and women. Islamic scholarly perspectives and rulings on sexuality are codified as either sexual jurisprudence ( ar, الفقه الجنسي) or marital jurisprudence ( ar, فقه النكاح), which both in turn also contain components of Islamic family jurisprudence, Islamic marital jurisprudence, hygienical and criminal jurisprudence. While most traditions discourage celibacy, all encourage strict chastity, modesty and privacy with regard to any relationships between genders, holding forth that their intimacy as perceived within Islam is largely reserved for marriage. This sensitivity to gender difference, gender seclusion and modesty outside of marriage can be seen in current prominent aspects of Islam, such as interpretations of Islamic dress and degrees of gender segregation.

In Islam, prohibitions against extramarital sex are strong, and permissible marital sexual activities are familiar subjects. Marriage is the only permitted sexual relationship, and it is described in Quran and hadith as bringing about strong love and closeness. Contraceptive use is permitted for birth control. Homosexual acts are strictly forbidden.

Legal prescriptions

Modesty and chastity

Islam has strongly emphasized the concept of conservatism, decency and modesty ('' haya''); besides the lawful sexuality, priority is given to modesty and chastity both inside and outside the marital relationships. The Quran warns against immoral lust ('' fahisha''), and the hadith literature, modesty has been described as "a part of faith". Islam strictly discourages nudity and public nakedness, and it is also forbidden for spouses to spread the secrets of what happens between them in their private marital life.

Sex education

Islam has a long tradition of pragmatism with respect to sex education, with sex being readily discussed and not subject or taboo as long as the topics under discussion were Islamically permissible. A hadith attributed to Muhammad's wife Aisha states that the Ansar women in particular were not shy about asking questions regarding sexual matters as long as they are halal. From as early as the 14th-century, entire manuscripts devoted to Islamic sexual education were being written in Arabic in Baghdad, which at that time was a great literary centre within the Muslim world.

In modern practice, sex education is not recommended until the approach of puberty, children are expected to be taught the signs of this and the characteristics which distinguish men from women. Islamic tradition also encourages that sexual education be entwined with morality, explaining Islamic rules involving the covering the intimate parts of the body, ‘''awrah'', and the Islamic positions on modesty, chastity and avoiding promiscuity.

Circumcision

''Khitan'' or ''Khatna'' ( ar, ختان, ar, ختنة) is the term for male circumcision carried out as a cultural rite by Muslims and is considered a sign of belonging to the wider Islamic community. Whether or not it should be carried out after converting to Islam is debated among Islamic scholars. The Quran does not mention circumcision, either explicitly or implicitly, in any verse, while some hadiths mention circumcision in a list of practices known as ''fitra'' (acts considered to be of a refined person). However, different hadiths contradict on whether circumcision is part of fitra or not. According to some traditions Muhammad was born without a foreskin ( aposthetic), while others maintain that his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib circumcised him when he was seven days old. Islamic sources that advocate for circumcision also do not fix a particular time for circumcision, which can depend on family, region and country. The preferred age is usually seven although some Muslims are circumcised as early as the seventh day after birth and as late as the commencement of puberty.

Puberty

'' Bāligh'' or ''bulūgh'' ( ar, بالغ or بُلوغ) refers to a person who has reached puberty or adulthood, and has full responsibility under Islamic law. In Islam, human life is divided into two parts, the first is before adolescence or childhood, when man is considered innocent, and the second is after adolescence (''bulugiyat'') or adulthood, when the Islamic law is fully applied to man and the hereafter is judged. If a person dies before he becomes an adult, he is considered to be in heaven.

The minimum age for puberty in boys is approximately 11 lunar years, and in the absence of symptoms, approximately 15 lunar years or possibly younger 14 lunar years , however parents are still responsible for the baligh child until approximately 21 lunar years , or may vary by geographical region; in the case of boys, the characteristics or signs of puberty , pubic hair growth and semen discharge (wet dreams). The minimum age of puberty for girls is approximately 9 lunar years and if absence of no symptoms are found, it can be considered as approximately 13 lunar years or possibly older 14 lunar years or 15 lunar years, , however parents are still responsible for the baligh child until approximately 21 lunar years , or may vary by geographical region in case of girls. The characteristics or signs of puberty in girls are pubic hair, menstruation, wet dreams and the ability to conceive.

In issues pertaining to marriage, ''baligh'' refers to the legal expression ''hatta tutiqa'l-rijal'', which means a wedding may not take place until a girl is physically fit for sexual intercourse. This can also, though not necessarily, coincide with the reaching of sexual maturity manifested by menses or nocturnal emission.Masud, ''Islamic Legal Interpretation, Muftis and Their Fatwas'', Harvard University Press, 1996 Only after a separate condition called ''rushd'', or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a wife receive her bridewealth.

Marriage

In Islam and Islamic law (''sharia''), marriage (''nikāḥ'' نکاح) is a legal and social contract between two individuals that outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride. Polygyny is permitted in Islam under some conditions. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. Marriage is an act of Islam and is strongly recommended. In Islamic jurisprudence, the primary purpose of sex between marriage and concubinage is procreation. Islam recognizes the strong sexual urge and desire for reproduction and supports a pro-natalist view of procreation.

Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some executed by a husband personally and some executed by a religious court on behalf of a plaintiff wife who is successful in her legal divorce petition for valid cause.

In addition to ''nikah'', there is a different fixed-term marriage known as ("temporary marriage") permitted only by the Twelver branch of Shi'ite for a pre-fixed period.Berg, H
"Method and theory in the study of Islamic origins"
Brill 2003 , 9789004126022. Accessed at Google Books 15 March 2014.Hughes, T
"A Dictionary of Islam."
Asian Educational Services 1 December 1995. Accessed 15 April 2014.Pohl, F
"Muslim world: modern Muslim societies"
Marshall Cavendish, 2010. , 1780761479277. pp. 47–53. There is also Nikah Misyar, a non-temporary marriage with the removal of some conditions such as living together, permitted by some Sunni scholars.

In Islam, the husband should have intercourse with his wife according to what satisfies her, so long as that does not harm him physically or keep him from earning a living. The husband is obliged to treat his wife in a kind and reasonable manner. Part of that kind and reasonable treatment is intercourse, with tradition stipulating that couples should not forego intercourse for longer than four months. According to other scholars, there is no time limit. However, most scholars say that, it is obligatory on women alike not to refuse their husbands if they call them, so long as the woman who is called is not menstruating or sick in such a way that intercourse will be harmful to her, or observing an obligatory fast. If she refuses with no excuse, then she is cursed.

Interfaith marriage

Interfaith marriages are recognized between Muslims and Non-Muslim "People of the Book" (usually Jews, Christians, and Sabians). According to the traditional interpretation of Islamic law (''sharīʿa''), a Muslim man is allowed to marry a Christian or Jewish woman but this ruling does not apply to women who belong to other Non-Muslim religious groups, whereas a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Non-Muslim man of any Non-Muslim religious group. However, marriage with an idolatress or idolater is forbidden,

In the case of a Muslim-Christian marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Christian spouse is not to be prevented from attending church for prayer and worship, according to the Ashtiname of Muhammad, a treaty between Muslims and Christians recorded between Muhammad and Saint Catherine's Monastery.

Purification and hygiene

Sexual hygiene in Islam is a prominent topic in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') due to its everyday nature. After sexual intercourse or seminal discharge, individuals enter a state known as ''junub'' () meaning ritually impure due to sexual intercourse or seminal discharge.

This state prevents a person from offering salat, and a person in such a state must perform a full-body ablution known as '' ghusl'' to regain the state of ritual purity necessary to once again perform prayers, or touching a copy of the Quran.

Menstruation

The Qur'an makes specific mention of menstruation in Quran 2:222 that instructs Muslims to "keep aloof from the women during the menstrual discharge and do not go near them until they have become clean; then when they have cleansed themselves, go in to them as Allah has commanded you", language that is taken to clearly imply that sexual relations during menstruation are prohibited. Ibn Kathīr, a muhaddith, narrated a hadith that describes Muhammad's habits with his menstruating wives. This hadith demonstrates that Muhammad gave licence to all forms of spousal intimacy during the period of menstruation with the exception of vaginal intercourse. Women are required to perform ritual cleansing (''ghusl'') before resuming religious duties or sexual relations upon completion of their menstruation.

Sexual intercourse is also prohibited during menstruation, for forty days after childbirth (puerperium), during the daylight hours of the month of Ramadan (i.e. while fasting) and on pilgrimage. While in the sanctuary (in Ahram) at Mecca, pilgrims are not allowed to have intercourse, and marriages performed during the pilgrimage are invalid.

Nocturnal emissions

Nocturnal emission is not a sin in Islam. Moreover, whereas a person fasting (in Ramadan or otherwise) would normally be considered to have broken their fast by ejaculating on purpose (during either masturbation or intercourse), nocturnal emission is not such a cause. They are still required to bathe prior to undergoing some rituals in the religion. Muslim scholars consider ejaculation something that makes one temporarily ritually impure, a condition known as junub; meaning that a Muslim who has had an orgasm or ejaculated must have a '' ghusl.''

Ramadan

During Ramadan, sexual activity is only permitted at night. Although this passage is explicitly addressed to men, the regulations on sex in regard to fasting are universally taken to apply equally to both male and female Muslims.

Concubinage (archaic)

Before the abolition of slavery, concubinage existed alongside marriage as a permitted relationship in Islamic law that allowed a man to have sexual intercourse with his female slaves. Concubinage, which was a sexual relationship between a Muslim man and an unmarried female slave whom he owned, was the only legal sexual relationship outside marriage in Islamic law.

"Concubine" (''surriyya'') refers to the female slave (''jāriya''), whether Muslim or non-Muslim, with whom her master engages in sexual intercourse. The word ''surriyya'' is not mentioned in the Quran. However, the expression "Ma malakat aymanukum" (that which your right hands own), which occurs fifteen times in the sacred book, refers to slaves and therefore, though not necessarily, to concubines. Concubinage was a pre-Islamic custom that was allowed to be practised under Islam through some reform with Jews and non-Muslim people. Muhammad also inspired to free "converted pious" concubines and marry them.

Islamic jurisprudence sets limits on the master's right to sexual intercourse with his female slave. A man's ownership of his unmarried slave-girl gave him an exclusive right to have sex with her under the condition that he could not sell her to others (in order to prevent prostitution of slaves) and neither harm her. A man could own a limitless number of concubines that he could afford and maintain their upkeep, but could not have access to the slave-girls owned by his wife. Marriage between the master and his concubine was only possible if she was granted free status first. To avoid pregnancies, the master had the right to practice coitus interruptus. The birth of progeny would change the legal status of the concubine to that of ''umm al-walad'' ("mother of the child"); as such, the concubine could not then be sold and her child would be seen as legitimate and free. On the (lawful) death of her master, she would automatically acquire free status.

Intersexuality

Intersex persons in Islam are referred to as ''Khunthaa'' in the books of Fiqh.

An intersex person may have sex characteristics or organs that are not typically male or female. This person is called a ''Khunthaa'' in the books of Fiqh. There are three types of Khunthaa:

1. A person has aspects of both organs, and urinates from the male organ. This person will be included among the males and the laws regarding males will fall on him.

2. The person urinates from the female organ so will be included among the females. The laws related to females will fall on this person. This applies before the person reaches maturity. After maturity, the person will be rechecked. If he experiences wet dreams like a male then he will be counted as a male. On the other hand, if the person develops breasts and other signs of being feminine the she will be included among the females.

3. When both masculine and feminine signs are equal and it cannot be determined whether the person is more male or more female then such a person is termed Khunthaa Mushkil. There are different laws regarding such a person, a few examples: It is not permissible for a Khunthaa Mushkil to wear silk and jewellery. Both these are permissible for females. But because this person's condition cannot be ascertained, so precaution demands that such a person not wear silk and jewellery, because of the possibility that the person may be more male. Such a person cannot travel without a Mahram because of the possibility of being more female. When this person dies, Ghusl will not be given because the question arises that who will render the Ghusl, male or female. The law is that this person will be given Tayammum. If a Ghayr Mahram is rendering the Tayammum then the person has to wear a cloth over the hands. A Mahram does not have to wear a cloth over the hands.

With regard to marriage of one who is intersex, if it is an unambiguous case, then according to how he or she is classified, he or she may marry someone of the opposite gender. If it is an ambiguous case, then the marriage of such a person cannot be valid, the reason being that he may be male, in which case how can he marry another male, or may be female, in which case she can't marry another female like her. If this individual is sexually attracted to females and claims to be a man, this is a sign that he is most likely male, and vice versa.

Intersex medical interventions are considered permissible to achieve agreement between a person's exterior, chromosomal make-up or sex organs. They are regarded as treatment and not the altering of Allah's creation or imitation of the opposite sex.

Family planning

Contraception

The Quran does not contain explicit text regarding contraception. Muslims refer to the hadith on the question of contraception. According to Muslim scholars, birth control is permitted, when it is temporary and for a valid reason.

As such, the withdrawal method of contraception— 'Azll—is allowed according to the hadith. Muslim jurists concur with its permissibility and use analogical deduction to approve other forms of contraception (e.g. condom usage).

Under normal circumstances, sterilization is not considered to be permitted in Shari’ah. The irreversible nature associated with both the male and female sterilizations contradicts one of the primary purposes of marriage which is to have children, as mentioned by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in his Ihya’ Ulum al-Din. Furthermore, sterilization is considered a form of self-mutilation (''muthla''), which is forbidden. Only in cases of absolute necessity is sterilization permitted.

IVF treatment

As early as 1980, authoritative fatwas issued from Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University suggested that in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and similar technologies are permissible In Islam as long as they do not involve any form of third-party donation (of sperm, eggs, embryos, or uteruses).

Areas of legal ambiguity

Masturbation

There are varying scholarly views of masturbation ( ar-at, استمناء, istimnā’) in Islam, largely because the Qur'an does not specifically mention the subject. There are some references to it in the ''hadiths'', but these are classified as unreliable. The hadith regarding masturbation are, too, not considered to take a definitive stance on the subject. As such, positions on masturbation vary widely.

Masturbation has nevertheless been considered ''haram'' or prohibited by many jurists historically,The Lawful And The Prohibited In Islam, Yusuf Al-Qardawi – 1997The New Arab Man: Emergent Masculinities, Technologies, and Islam in the Middle East, p 168, Marcia C. Inhorn – 2012 though often with the caveat that it may be permissible if done out of necessity. For example, one scholar notably permitted masturbation as a means whereby soldiers, far away from their wives on a tour of duty might remain chaste. At the same time, in certain points in history, masturbation has also been considered among the great sins, and subject to discretionary punishments ''ta'zir

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