Woman Between Islam and Western Society
4. The Problems Facing Modern Civilization
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relative with whom marriage is not permitted,
e.g. brother, father, uncle, etc.) is with her,
because in such cases the third is Satan.
20
When an unmarried boy and girl meet alone, Satan
immediately grasps this opportunity to tempt them.
The presence of a third person, guarantees that such
a meeting will not go beyond limits.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VIRGINITY
Sexual permissiveness has become such an all-
pervasive feature of modern life that the forming of
sexual relationships before marriage has become a
commonplace, the current philosophy being that
advance experimentation is a better and safer way
of choosing one’s partner for life. Pre-marital
encounters between men and women are, therefore,
marked by the same openness and lack of inhibition
as those which take place within the sanctity of the
marriage bond. This runs counter to nature itself. In
fact, deviation from tradition has created problems
which have become insoluble in the present-day
social setup. The very intractability of these
problems has led to a general reappraisal of sexual
permissiveness. Even those who were the greatest
