Sex, like hunger and thirst, is a natural urge inherent in living beings. The distinction of man, being the best of creations of God, lies in keeping it in perfect restraint. This is what the Lord Creator expects from man, and again this is what carries the secret of success in our life. But, as the western culture and of course man’s indifference to Divine injunctions would have it, man has left this natural urge go unbridled and unrestrained and thus come down to the level of animals, thinking that life means only the enjoyment of ease and comfort and satisfying natural urges without giving a thought to what his actions are going to result in here in this world as well as in the hereafter. At least the alleged involvement of former Governor of Andhra Pradesh N.D. Tiwari in a sex scandal, and cases of atrocities against women by the top police officials including former DGP of Haryana S.P.S. Rathore, DGP of Orissa, B.B. Mohanty and DIG in Rajasthan Madhukar Tandon that are continuing to make headlines for over a fortnight now, prove this fact.
The rot lies in the very system we are running. Our system grants impunity to these high-ups and does not take such criminal cases in their face value. These cases demand a sincere, genuine and unbiased search for a fool-proof system, which can guarantee peace and salvation. Here we can claim, and of course the society can find it so, that Islam is the only religion which presents a fool-proof system of morally clean, strong and healthy society. In this system there is no loophole, no sidetrack, no grant of impunity to anyone irrespective of his or her social, religious, political or official status – rather the higher the status, the greater the moral responsibility is. Islam nips the evil in the bud. The Holy Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (my Allah bless and greet him) said that a man’s first glance at a strange woman may be pardoned but not the second one as the latter must have been intentional. We can say with a ring of confidence that Islam has zero tolerance toward crimes, especially the ones related to moral perversity. The Messenger has warned people from all possible situations that can lead to loss of morality or in other words indulgence in sexual perversity. For instance, he prohibited women and girls from donning see-through dresses and from mixing with strangers particularly when there are only two persons of opposite sexes. These injunctions appear to be outdated in our so-called ‘modern’ and ‘civilized’ society. But if you think coolly, you will come to realise wisdom therein.
It is not ‘priggish insistence’ on morality, nor is it ‘invoking the unwritten rules of morality’, as a columnist of a national daily loves to believe. It is a sane, selfless and prudent point for society to consider. It is well-writ not on the sands of time but on the pages of books; and it is up to society to find it. The world has tried different isms by now but none has proved successful in ensuring morality and peace in society. It is high time it gave Islam a try now.