It should not come as a surprise to us that Islam takes a very serious view of immorality and works hard for its total eradication. The most important feature of Jahili (ignorant, non-Islamic) societies throughout all ages, as we see today across the globe, is permissiveness and the shedding of all moral and legal inhibitions.
Thus, promiscuity becomes an aspect of personal freedom that is only opposed by intolerant prudes. People living in ignorant societies may agree to forgo, willingly or unwillingly, all their human freedom but not their “animal” freedom. They will also rise up in arms against anyone who opposes promiscuity and tries to regulate their moral standards.
In ignorant societies, all systems collaborate to destroy moral barriers, weaken natural controls within man, give an innocent appearance to permissiveness and allow excessive promiscuity to run without checks or controls. This inevitably leads to the weakening of family and social controls, to the ridicule of natural, healthy feelings which are disgusted by permissiveness, and to the glorification of both physical and emotional nudity and all its methods of expression.
Islam tries to purify human feelings and societies from all these characteristics of promiscuous ignorance. You have only to read the poetry of Imru’ul-Qais, the renowned poet of pre-Islamic Arabia, to find close similarities with the poetry of ancient Greece and that of the Roman Empire. You will also find close similarities with the arts and literature of contemporary Jahiliyyah (or state of ignorance), Arabian and non-Arabian.
Moreover, if we examine social traditions, the status of women and permissiveness in all Jahiliyah societies, ancient and contemporary, we are bound to conclude that they all start from the same concept and adopt similar slogans.
Such permissiveness always leads to the destruction of civilization and the collapse of the nation in which it spreads. This is exactly what happened to the ancient Greek, Roman and Persian civilizations. It is also happening today to European and American civilizations, which have started their decline despite all the appearances of great advances in the industrial field. This is something that has been worrying men of wisdom in the West, although they feel that they are too weak to be able to check this destructive trend.
The total destruction of society and civilization is the inevitable end, yet the people of Jahiliyah, in all ages and societies, push forward towards permissiveness at full speed. Indeed, they are willing to sacrifice all their freedoms, and live the life of slaves, provided that they have the freedom to enjoy their animal indulgences.
This is indeed neither indulgence nor freedom. It is total enslavement to carnal desires, which makes man sink far below the standards of animals. Animals follow the dictates of their nature in this connection. They have special seasons when they become sexually active. Moreover, their sexual function is strictly linked to the purpose of procreation. A female does not accept the male except in her season of fertility. The male, on the other hand, does not make any advance towards the female except when she is ready.
But God has left man to his own reason and made faith the power to control that reason. If he breaks loose from faith, he will find himself weak, subjected to much pressure. He cannot check and control his desire. It is impossible, therefore, to provide any real social checks and to make society truly clean except through faith. Yet faith needs to be backed by an organized authority to punish those who violate the bounds set by God. In this way, faith saves man from the depths of animal desire and elevates him to a position of honor among the rest of His creation.
Humanity today lives a life that gives faith a very secondary position. It does not have the benefit of a ruling body that derives its authority from faith. Hence, wise individuals in Western societies call in vain for the establishment of checks and controls. They may well save themselves the trouble because no one responds to mere words that are not backed by an executive authority and deterrent punishments.
The church and the clergy also make their contribution against promiscuity, but it all goes in vain. No one responds to a lost faith lacking the authority to undertake the implementation of its laws and directives. Thus, mankind moves headlong towards the abyss without any hope of salvation.
That this civilization will ultimately be destroyed is absolutely certain, as is evident by all past human experience. This is true despite the apparent strength of this civilization and its great foundation. Man is indeed the greatest of all these foundations. When man is destroyed, civilization cannot remain in existence, supported only by factories and newly-implemented robotic production.
If we fully appreciated how profound this truth is, we would be able to recognize the greatness of Islam. For it has legislated its severe punishment for promiscuity and gross indecency in order to protect man from his own destruction. This is the only way for human life to be established on proper human foundations.
We would also recognize the extent of the crime committed by those systems which collaborate to destroy the foundation of human life through the glorification of promiscuity and permissiveness, giving them such appealing names as “art”, “freedom” and “progress”. Every means that contributes to the destruction of man is a crime and it must be called as such. Moreover, it must be countered with sound advice as well as stern punishment. This is what Islam does because it is a religion with a perfect system.
Source: OnIslam
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