(3/149) Clarifying the benefits of sexual relations, which are among the primary aims of marriage: Intercourse was originally instituted for three ends—these are its essential objectives:

1. The preservation of progeny and the continuity of the human race until the full number that Allah has decreed to appear in this world is completed.
2. The discharge of the seminal fluid whose retention and congestion would harm the entire body.
3. The satisfaction of desire, the attainment of pleasure, and the enjoyment of Allah’s blessing. End quote.

Marriage, therefore, brings tremendous benefits, foremost of which is that it is a shield against fornication and a curb to the gaze from what is unlawful. Among its benefits are the begetting of offspring and the safeguarding of lineage; the establishment of tranquility and psychological stability between the spouses; the cooperation of husband and wife in building a righteous family, which is one of the cornerstones of the Muslim society; the husband’s undertaking to maintain and protect the woman, and the woman’s management of the household and her fulfilment of her proper role in life. This stands in stark contrast to what the enemies of woman and of society allege—that she must be her husband’s partner in work outside the home—thereby driving her out of her house, detaching her from her rightful function, assigning her work to others, and imposing upon her the tasks of others, which has disrupted the family order and soured relations between the spouses, leading to