I\u2019m following a gentleman on Facebook who is visiting many faiths by \u201ctrying on\u201d each one for a month (see\u00a0Project Conversion<\/a>) .\u00a0 He has dipped into Bahai, Hinduism, and several other religions, and this month he is learning about Buddhism<\/a>.\u00a0 In his most recent blog post<\/a>, he mentioned that his wife was having trouble with one of the aspects of being married to someone who was seeing what it was like to be a monk.\u00a0 Celibacy.\u00a0 He was practicing monkish aceticism for the day and she was a bit put out at not being able to be intimate with him.\u00a0 He described his separation as a way of extinguishing desire so that he could be more able to focus on worship and his search for the divine.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019m all for taking a step back and evaluating one\u2019s life.\u00a0 We Muslims fast in the month of Ramadan (which this man will be experiencing along with us), during which time we abstain from food, drink, and, yes, marital intimacy during the daylight hours.\u00a0 We are encouraged to fast other times during the year, and we are warned against overindulgence in any area of life.\u00a0 Moderation is the key.\u00a0 But giving up permanently<\/i> the generous gifts that Allah has given us is not a part of our religion.\u00a0 Just as we have an innate need to eat and drink, our sexuality is a part of us that needs to be nurtured and fulfilled, not whipped and beaten into submission.\u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n Narrated by Anas bin Malik:\u00a0 \u201cA group of three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet asking how the Prophet worshipped (Allah), and when they were informed about that, they considered their worship insufficient and said, \u201cWhere are we from the Prophet as his past and future sins have been forgiven.\u201d Then one of them said, \u201cI will offer the prayer throughout the night forever.\u201d The other said, \u201cI will fast throughout the year and will not break my fast.\u201d The third said, \u201cI will keep away from the women and will not marry forever.\u201d Allah\u2019s Apostle came to them and said, \u201cAre you the same people who said so-and-so? By Allah, I am more submissive to Allah and more afraid of Him than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I also marry women. So he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me (not one of my followers).\u201d\u00a0 (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n A person who seeks to stamp out his sexual desire is stamping out a part of him that is part and parcel of his very nature.\u00a0 It is a misguided attempt to purify, because there is nothing \u201cbase\u201d or dirty about sexuality when it is practiced moderately within the bounds of marriage.\u00a0 Why would God create us with this need and then tell us that we have to get rid of it in order to be truly faithful and close to Him? <\/p>\n We have another bodily function that is distinctly less clean than our sexuality.\u00a0 Every human being urinates and defacates.\u00a0 It is part of our physical nature.\u00a0 So, can a person who truly seeks to find God cleanse himself of the filth of the body and train himself to extinguish the need to relieve himself?\u00a0 It\u2019s not possible, and God never would ask it of us.\u00a0 It is a normal human function.\u00a0 Yet even though dealing with our bodily wastes is necessary for the highest priest or the lowest acolyte, no one would be so foolish as to suggest that they have to stop pooping and peeing in order to be spiritual.\u00a0 We accept this as part of our lives and then get on with our lives.<\/p>\n If you are hungry, don\u2019t give up food (which is impossible anyway).\u00a0 Go have a sandwich, and then you can return to your worship in a calm manner.\u00a0 If sex is a distraction, don\u2019t give up sex, get married and fulfill your desire in a permissible fashion with your spouse.\u00a0 Then go and pray.\u00a0 Enjoy the pure gifts that God gave us in moderation.\u00a0 Don\u2019t deprive yourself of something that God gave you.\u00a0 That would be ungrateful, and being ungrateful to God will send you in the opposite direction from the one you want to go in.<\/p><\/div>\n
![](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-g5SE9Jc2T8A\/TdZpzM5rTpI\/AAAAAAAAAIc\/Dzbt7PKy7CQ\/s320\/monk_lighting_candles.gif\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/8276196425188955527-7365088882169916038?l=muslimahinprogress.blogspot.com\")
<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"