Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals

Arab News & Information - By Sheikh Muhammad Al-Ghazali

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) knew God well and gave us good knowledge of Him. He always remembered and thanked God, leading all people in such pursuit.

When they slackened, he encouraged them and when they erred, he corrected their mistakes. In fact, he took them out of the darkness of ignorance and taught them how to live under God's light in this life on earth. He further taught them what to do in order to ensure that the gates of heaven will open to them in the life to come. Prophet Muhammad taught us that our relation with God is not limited to a short or long prayer in the morning or in the evening, after which we move about in the world around us, doing whatever we want with no regard to any values or principles. Such an approach to religion is unacceptable to Islam. True religiousness requires thinking of God in all situations, always choosing what is consistent with God's orders and refraining from encroaching on what He has prohibited. It also means understanding our human weaknesses and seeking God's help and support in whatever we may encounter.

The Prophet's life represented a clear pattern of a profound and comprehensive relation with God. He never lost sight of God in whatever he did or omitted. Hence, his supplications addressed all aspects of life while his glorification and remembrance of God was part of everything he did. He stood out to receive the first drops of rain, saying: "This rain is fresh from God". When the early fruit has ripened, people brought it to him. He would take it and say: "Our Lord, bless our fruits; bless our city; bless our measures."

He would then give the fruit to the youngest child present to eat. When wind became strong he used to pray: "My Lord, I appeal to You to grant us its goodness and all the goodness it carries and brings; and I appeal to You to protect us from its evil and whatever evil it carries and brings". With such profound awareness of God he looked at all situations. Hence, he carried out Islamic teachings as he received them from on high. Such was his approach in building the first Islamic society.

The basic unit of society is the family. Islam addresses human life with all its needs. It recognizes the importance of the sexual desire for people and deals with it in a way that allows its satisfaction in a clean and healthy atmosphere.

Thus, it encourages marriage and makes it the only environment in which the sexual desire could be legitimately practiced. In fact, it encourages both man and wife to do what they can to give each other pleasure and fulfilment. It prohibits permissiveness and promiscuity. Other societies may allow loose sexual practice, but Islam accepts nothing of the sort. It is only within marriage that sex can be legitimately approached, because sex has an important function, in addition to the pleasure it gives, which is building a family. Hence, the Qur'an includes among the qualities of God's pious servants the following: "(They) pray: Our Lord! Grant us spouses and offspring who will be a joy to our eyes, and cause us to be foremost among the God-fearing." (25: 74)

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