Sexual Instinct

Sexual desire is a powerful force that, if expressed incorrectly, can cause indescribable harm to individuals. Conversely, responding to this desire and, more importantly, achieving balance in responses can lead to significant individual and social effects. Since the heavenly scriptures of Abrahamic religions have never disregarded sexual pleasure, ensuring that sexual satisfaction does not become a means of societal deviation, the present study aims to explore what teachings these scriptures offer to preserve the sexual instinct. By comparing the three texts—the Quran, the Old Testament, and the New Testament—through a descriptive and analytical approach using library resources, we have concluded that all three texts recognize the family as the proper context for the correct fulfillment of this instinct and provide programs for this purpose. In this regard, the Quran establishes specific laws within the confines of marriage that prevent marriage from posing a threat to the sexual instinct. This is contrary to what is observed in the two Testaments, particularly in the New Testament. Both the Quran and the Bible discuss the preservation and purity of the sexual instinct, but the purity emphasized in Islam differs from that in the Testaments (especially the New Testament). The Quran guides towards proper fulfillment, while another view seeks to suppress this instinct.