Exposing Islam

Post 8: Sexual Exclusivity — A One-Way Street

Subtitle: Islamic Law Grants Men Sexual Privileges While Restricting Women

Islamic law provides men with a range of sexual outlets—multiple wives, concubines, temporary marriage (in Shi'a Islam)—while strictly limiting women to a single husband and prohibiting sexual autonomy. The Qur'an codifies a system in which male sexual access is normalized and divine, and female sexuality is rigidly controlled and penalized. This double standard is not incidental—it’s embedded in divine law.

1. Men May Marry up to Four Wives — Women Only One Husband

“Marry women of your choice, two, three, or four...”
— Qur’an 4:3

This verse establishes the allowance of polygyny—up to four wives simultaneously. There is no reciprocal allowance for women to have multiple husbands (polyandry is forbidden).

🔍 Logical Problem:

If Islam claims to be based on fairness and mutual responsibility, why is sexual exclusivity imposed on women but waived for men?

2. Men Are Also Permitted Concubines (Female Slaves)

“…those your right hands possess…”
— Qur’an 4:24, 23:6, 33:50

These phrases refer to female captives or slaves. Islamic law allowed men to have sexual relations with enslaved women without marriage or their consent. This is sanctioned across:

The Qur'an (explicit in multiple verses),
Hadith (e.g., Sahih Muslim 1456a),
Classical jurisprudence (fiqh manuals).

Women, by contrast, were forbidden from sexual relations outside marriage, and a slave woman found guilty of fornication could be flogged (Qur’an 4:25).

⚖️ Inherent Inequality:

Men = sexual plurality (wives + concubines).
Women = sexual singularity (1 husband, no slaves, no rights if enslaved).

3. Temporary Marriage (Mut’ah) in Shi’a Islam

Shi’a jurisprudence permits temporary marriage contracts (mut’ah), wherein a man pays a woman for a predetermined period of sexual access. Although Sunni Islam banned it later, it was practiced during Muhammad’s lifetime and even permitted by him:

“We used to contract temporary marriage during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle…”
— Sahih Muslim 1405a

Again, this privilege was for men only. Women could not initiate or equally benefit from mut’ah without facing social or legal stigma.

4. Adultery and Fornication: Death or Flogging for Women

Women accused of zina (fornication/adultery) face severe penalties, including:

100 lashes for the unmarried (Qur’an 24:2),
Death by stoning for the married (Sahih Bukhari 6829).

Even rape victims could be punished unless they could produce four male witnesses (Qur’an 24:4). This standard disproportionately penalizes women, since men are rarely punished without extreme evidence, and false accusations rarely result in convictions against men.

5. Female Modesty Laws and Male Entitlement

Islamic law heavily emphasizes female modesty and veiling (hijab, jilbab, niqab) while saying almost nothing equivalent for men. Qur’an 24:31 instructs women to:

“…draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty…”

Meanwhile, men are instructed only generically to “lower their gaze” (24:30), a much weaker directive with no bodily restrictions.

👀 Implied Message:

Women’s bodies are the source of fitnah (temptation); therefore, they bear the burden of avoiding male arousal.

6. Muhammad’s Sexual Privileges: Divine Exceptions

“O Prophet, We have made lawful to you your wives … and any believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet…”
— Qur’an 33:50

Muhammad alone was granted:

Unlimited wives (beyond the 4-wife limit),
First access to female captives (e.g., Safiyyah, Rayhana),
Permission to marry without a dowry or waiting period.

No such exception was given to any woman. These privileges underscore how male sexual access was not only normalized—it was sanctified.

7. Consent and Autonomy: Absent for Women, Assumed for Men

Islamic jurisprudence traditionally does not require consent from female slaves for sexual relations. And even in marriage:

A wife is obliged to have sex with her husband on demand.
Refusal can lead to disciplinary measures (Qur’an 4:34) or loss of maintenance.

By contrast, no parallel obligation is imposed on men to sexually satisfy wives.

Conclusion: Sexual Inequality Is Scripturally Codified, Not Cultural

The asymmetry in Islamic sexual ethics is not the result of historical patriarchy alone—it is woven into the Qur’an, Hadith, and legal tradition. From multiple wives and concubines to exclusive chastity demands on women, the system is structurally tilted in favor of male dominance and female submission.

Any attempt to modernize these teachings must either reject the plain Qur’anic texts or redefine them beyond recognition—both of which undermine claims of eternal, divine perfection.