‘truth’ that lay at ‘rest’ ( as-Sakkinah ) within naturally pre-determined limits
contained within the created form and purposed functions.
Therefore, as we approach the mystery of human sexuality and development,
bear these principles in mind. The real miracle within our loins is the
potential for engendering ‘the best of offspring’ perfected in form and
function. It is therefore better to preserve the natural taqua (balance within
the bounds of beneficial form and function) by first preserving it within
ourselves and hence also, our communities. This is the task of all Muslims
and the call of al’hisbah.
Limitation and Energy
Boundaries represent divinely predetermined limitations. Within these limits
exists a range extending from permissible to forbidden after which they move
towards the impossible. For example, it is permissible for man to hold his
breath but there is a limit as to time, just as there is a limit to what he can
inhale in order to maintain health or life. If he breathes what nature normally
forbids, he will become ill (poisoned or intoxicated). If he holds his breath
beyond the limit of his strength or inhales fluid or mortal toxins,^18 he exceeds
the forbidden and entertains what is impossible then dies. These limits or
boundaries cannot be exceeded without naturally predetermined detrimental
effects.
In the same way, limits also exist for the energy dispensed by Allah that
maintains life. For example, prior to the Flood of Prophet Noah^19 it is written
that men lived longer, some extending for nearly a thousand years; and there
is convincing orthodontic evidence that the Neanderthal hominid enjoyed life
spans beyond 500 years and took nearly a century for offspring to mature.^20
After the Flood, Allah decreased this limit to 120 years and it has rarely been
exceeded in recorded history. This implies variable temporal limits for ‘life
energies’ that infuse mankind’s physical organism. These energies may be
18
E.g. the major cause of death in fires is the toxic smoke that results from the burning of
manufactured synthetic materials with which man has now surrounded himself.
(^19) Now scientifically established at about 5,500 BC. See: Noah’s Flood , Ryan & Pitman, Columbia
Univ., Simon & Schuster, 2000
(^20) Buried Alive , Dr. Jack Cuozzo, Pelican, 1998.