How Islam deals with "adultery by sight"

 From the perspective of someone like Christ, who has no sexual desires, we could potentially be aroused by simply looking at a member of the opposite sex, so simply looking at them constitutes "adultery." I thought that was a bit harsh, but then how does Islam deal with this?

"Women must wear a veil in public."

That's certainly a temporary solution. Even if we acknowledge that men are weak creatures whose sexual desires are instinctively aroused at the sight of a beautiful woman, what should we do? Is that the only thing we can do?

It's easy to understand. Once women wear a veil, men can't see. For men, it's the same effect as having your eyes gouged out to see women.

It's so simple and clear that I can't argue with it, but then we can't fall in love either...

Christ denied sexual desire, but did Muhammad deny love?

Hmm. While the Bible does not suggest that Christ fell in love, what about Muhammad?

"The Messenger of God fell in love."

The hadith clearly states this. Muhammad had multiple wives, so it makes sense. My copy of the scriptures is sealed now, so I've forgotten the exact part, but I believe it was when Muhammad already had multiple wives and, after a battle or something, saw a beautiful woman who wasn't a virgin. Of course, she was added to his new wife afterward, I guess.

Even so, aren't Shinran in Buddhism and Luther in Christianity the only religious leaders who openly proclaimed that they "fell in love"? Both Shinran and Luther were clergymen who broke with tradition and married, but Muhammad's scriptures state from the beginning that he "fell in love."

That's fine. That's what makes him a "human being." And in Islam, Muhammad is a "human being" and not deified. In Islam, no matter how high-ranking a priest, deification of humans is rejected. And I wholeheartedly agree.

Such a "human" as Muhammad must have known firsthand that men fall in love when they see a beautiful woman. So I don't think he rejected love. The Quran never preaches that women should wear a veil from the beginning. But if lust is left unchecked, families fall apart and society becomes chaotic. Some kind of brake is necessary, I guess.

But if women wear a veil, men can't fall in love. If it's okay to remove the veil in front of family at home, does that mean in Islam you don't fall in love and then get married, but rather you fall in love after you're married? It seems like the order is reversed... I don't really understand.

So, as for "love," while it's certainly driven by sexual desire, I don't think it's a word that simply glorifies lust. It's not glorification, it's "sublimation." Otherwise, there's no way God would bless "marriage" as something sacred.

And it seems that this "love" thing isn't something only humans experience. The more I look at nature, the more I can't help but think that all living things are in "love." I really want to write about that, but it's getting long, so I'll save it for next time.

Let love and mercy guide you

←　→