Body Image

With his website, Like A Garment, Sh. Yasir Qadhi has made it cool to talk about the importance of sex. Before this movement, I think that the average Muslim limited the discussion of sex to: "Haraam! Until marriage." However, Sh. Yasir Qadhi is not a trail blazer. I have to argue that Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood should be credited with that distinction because of her work: "The Muslim Marriage Guide." Any married or about-to-be married person should read her book. It gets a bit graphic at some places, but with well intentioned necessity. Both  Sh. Qadhi and Maqsood point out the beauty and power of sex. One of the chapters in Maqsood's book is, "How to turn sex into sadaqa." In addition, both argue that each partner is responsible for satisfying the other. This idea gets me to my point on body image.

A woman's body image has become a huge deal. Lately, we have become paranoid about not making women and young girls fell insecure about themselves and their bodies. I can't help but feel that we Muslims have taken on this mindset as well. True, we do not and should not make women fell physically inadequate. However, we as Muslim women, should be aware of the responsibility that we have when it comes to the physical aspect of our relationship with our husband (while also expecting a similar awareness form our partner). I am not saying that we all have to strive to look like a model. All I am saying is that we should not stigmatize the idea of striving to look hott (for lack of a better term).