In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Sex, Chastity, Purity & Submission
Reaching puberty adds a new dimension to our life as sex becomes an issue you hear, see, read, debate, argue and may even laugh about. Our society in America and Europe has become more obsessed with the issue of sex more than it needed to. Our movies, Television shows, magazines, newspapers, music and songs have been full of sex or gestures about sex. Since we live in this society and we will be exposed to this environment we need to know how to handle this situation in the light of our great religion. Since we have more freedom in this country than our peers in other countries, our test is a hard but rewarding one for those who pass it.
At any moment in your life, you have to remember why you are here and what is the purpose of your life. If you ever lost this focus, you will loose your way and this life will become one misery after another. We are here to prove to God that we do worship Him alone and devote our life and our worship absolutely to Him alone. To worship God and devote yourself to Him means to trust Him and trust His words, the Quran. God in the Quran is teaching us that sex is a gift from Him that should be used only in the manner that God commanded us. God gave us the gift of sex so the believing men and believing women can enjoy it after they commit themselves to each other as a husband and wife. God knows that He gave us the awareness of sexual needs earlier in our life after puberty and with that awareness He told us to be patient, steadfastly preserve and wait for the future spouse with whom you will share that blessing. It is a difficult test only if we forget that we need to please God, so He would make things easy for us, guide us and protect us. It is a difficult test only if we allow peer pressure, society standard, Hollywood morals or movie or rock stars to set the standard for us instead of following the standard, God wrote down for us in His Holy book.
Quran teaches in a very clear way that the happiness in this life (and in the Hereafter) depends on following God's law (e.g. Quran) . Quran teaches in a very clear way that our sons and daughters brothers and sisters should be taught that they should keep their chastity, for their own happiness. This means to stay virgin until the wedding night. God will then bless you, bless your spouse, your marriage and your future children.
[Quran 23:1-7] Successful indeed are the believers, who are reverent during their Contact prayers (Salat). And they avoid vain talk. And they give their obligatory charity (Zakat). And THEY MAINTAIN THEIR CHASTITY. Only with their spouses, or those who are rightfully theirs do they have sexual relations; they are not to be blamed. Those who transgress these limits are the transgressors.
[24:30-31] Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes, and to maintain their chastity. This is purer for them. God is fully Cognizant of everything they do. And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and to maintain their chastity...........
See also 33:35, 70:29-30
The story of Joseph in the Quran and in the Bible is an excellent example of a young man fighting sexual temptation and suffering to stand for what is right and what he knew is God's law.
[12:23] The lady of the house where he (Joseph) lived tried to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, "I am all yours." He said, "May GOD protect me. He is my Lord, who gave me a good home. The transgressors never succeed.
[Quran 12:24] "She almost succumbed to him, and he (Joseph) almost succumbed to her, if it were not that he saw a proof from his Lord. We thus diverted evil and sin away from him, for he was one of our devoted servants."
As you can see from 12:24, because Joseph was a devoted servant of God, God protected him from falling in sin in one of the most difficult moments of his life. We need to learn from Joseph by devoting our life and our worship to God alone and we will be given the kind of protection Joseph got from God. We need to learn form Joseph to stand firm for our Lord and His commandments and never allow circumstances to change our faith in God. God knows it is a difficult test and it is an honorable struggle and He will be rewarding those who pass the test manifolds.