Giving correct scholarly opinions to both Muslims and non-Muslims: Does Islam allow spousal rape? Part 2

Friday, August 24, 2012

Does Islam allow spousal rape? Part 2

Question

Is there such a thing as rape in a marriage, according to Islam?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Thanks for your question, and we earnestly implore Allah to guide us all so we can lead a happy life here and in the hereafter.

The relationship between a husband and wife should be based on tranquility, love, and mercy. Allah says: [And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect] (Ar -Rum 30:21).

Thus, the husband is prohibited to ask his wife to do what is forbidden by Allah, and the same should be done with the wife. It is a marital duty of both the husband and wife to encourage each other to become a source of comfort and tranquility. They should do everything physically, emotionally, and spiritually to make each other feel happy and comfortable.

Responding to the question, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore has stated the following:

Thank you for your query. We welcome your views on matters relating to Islam.

Islam views the marital relationship as a sacred institution and its followers are highly encouraged to get married if they are able to do so. One of the main reasons for marriage in Islam is so that human beings can channel their sexual instinct and procreate in an honorable manner. This is to avoid fornication and sex outside marriage.

However, that is not, and should not be, the only reason for marriage.

Marriage also provides couples with good and satisfying companionship. The relations between spouses should be based on tranquility, love, and mercy. Allah says: [And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect] (Ar-Rum 30:21).

In Islam, the husband is not allowed to demand that his wife do what is forbidden and harsh and unseemly by Allah; nor is the wife allowed to demand that her husband do anything that Allah has forbidden that would put undue burden upon her husband. Sex is a natural urge and desire. Islam allows sexual intercourse only between married spouses. Fornication and adultery are forbidden in Islam. Since according to Islam there is no other permissible way for sexual desire to be fulfilled except between the spouses, they must be considerate to each other.

Islamic law has given us two important principles in this matter:

1. The husband should not deny himself to his wife and the wife also should not deny herself to her husband. Husbands and wives should do their best to satisfy their spouses. Even during menses or post-childbirth bleeding, when intercourse is forbidden, husbands and wives spend time together and enjoy affection and intimacy in other ways.

2. I n conjugal relations, married couples should be kind and considerate to each other.

http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/family/intimate-relations/172215.html

No comments:

Post a Comment

Salaam and welcome

The purpose of this blog is to give accurate and fair fatwas from notable scholars on the religion of Islam.

What's a fatwa?

A fatwa is an opinion or ruling by one who is knowledgeable about Islamic ethics. Usually these people are Imam's, Mufti's, or anyone who has done deep studies of Islam.

Why should we follow scholars?

The Prophet Muhammed (peace be upin him) said:

“Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.”

A Quran verse is said to coincide with this hadith:

“Then We gave the Scripture as inheritance unto those whom We elected of Our servants.” [Qur'an, 35.32]

Another hadith states:

”The superiority of a scholar (alim) over the devout (abid) is like my superiority over a worshipper or like that of the moon in the night when it is full over the rest of the stars, and truly the scholars arc the heirs of the Prophets, and truly the Prophets do not leave behind them gold or silver, they only leave knowledge as their heritage. So whosoever acquires knowledge acquires a huge fortune.” (Transmitted by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and al Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.)

We pick and choose the most relevant opinions on major issues that many Muslims have either doubts or questions on.

The thing is there's many sites that give fatwas, but many of them are too extreme, flat out stupid or just wrong, all of whom contradict Islamic teachings. It's gets real tiring hearing about what some ulema (body of scholars) say about women, non-Muslims, and harmless customs. They judge, accuse and somtimes even degrade others. These people are suppose to guide us and help us, yet they're doing the opposite. Islam tells us only God and his Prophet (peace be upon him) can declrare what is haraam (forbidden), however these 'scholars' will find out ways to try and make whatever they want as haraam.
These are also feeders to anti-Islamic material. It makes us look even more worse than we're portrayed.

Another thing, there's many liberal and secular sites that are giving their own rulings, and they lack some of the basic Islamic education, most of which are found in kid's books. They are also doing significant damage to the ummah (worldwide Muslim community).

Our goal is to set things straight and educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam. All of the postings on this blog are to-the-point As well, these posts are for our own benefit, so we can refer back to them when we need to.

The rulings and opinions from scholars on this blog are mostly selected from the following popular sites:

http://www.askthescholar.com/ (run by Sheikh Ahmed Kutty, labeled as one of the top 100 Muslims worldwide).
http://www.onislam.net/ (formerly IslamOnline, one of the most visited Islamic websites in the world).
http://www.muslimvillage.com/
http://www.askamufti.com/
http://en.islamtoday.net/
http://www.canadiancouncilofimams.com/
http://fiqhcouncil.org/
http://www.ali-gomaa.com/ (Grand Mufti of Egypt)
http://www.dar-alifta.org/ (headed by the Grand Mufti of Egypt, advises the Egyptian government on matters)

We are thankful to God that we have found these sites, as they are the only ones (as of now) who post relevant and reliable material. And we hope inshallah (God willing) other Muslims can benefit from them as well)

We also pick out videos from sites like Youtube that feature scholars giving lectures, or their opinions on certain matters.

WE NEVER ISSUE OUR OWN FATWAS, EVER. We have studied Islam and know it well enough to know what's in our religion and what isn't. We can tell what's a good fatwa and what isn't. This is just a heads up because we don't want to recieve emails critisizing us about our selection of fatwas. All the scholars featured on this blog are well known and respected. They aren't random people wanting to misguide the ummah.