COVERED Edition 4 Issue 5 | Page 9

__________________________________________________________________________________ It acts as a repressor to the nervous system and it can cause shrinking of the brain and even senility. It suppresses feeling and allows itself to be an unhealthy coping mechanism. How I have understood this is that, every single human being falls into difficulty at some point, almost all of us have felt hopeless at some point, and when you are at that point, you will be prepared to accept almost anything to make that feeling go away. We resort to many things to help us, running, indulging in food, being alone and sometimes drugs and alcohol. God knows our nature and that those coping mechanisms could destroy us. It is tough, but our ultimate coping mechanism needs to be Him. There could be dozens of more reasons to add to this, this is what I mean by a more holistic approach in terms of: yes it is wrong, yes God forbids it, God cares about you and your family and your society and here is also some more reasoning therefore, we abstain. It more than just- you will be burning in hell. There is logic, care, and also the fact that it is forbidden and punishable to force you to potentially avoid hurting yourself and others. So when your child or yourself is faced with a religiously moral dilemma, there is strong backing for their beliefs and reasons to say no. It is easy to say no because they love God and they know God loves them and they also know why God loved them enough to forbid it for them. Also, it isn’t a method that every single person will follow or will dramatically improve society, but it will definitely be more hopeful, detailed, logical, further-reaching and truthful in its nature and will God willing, improve the current state of religious practice and belief among our people . We say there should be no intimacy between unmarried individuals. Why? Intimacy is so sacred in its nature, it is where life begins and develops. It is the closest relation two human beings can have, it is so binding on all forms, mind, body and soul. The bodies connect, the hormones released in the body are of a connecting nature, the energies and souls of those people fuse. How can one go about, sharing something that sacred with someone or others who have no right over you? How do you go about leaving little broken parts of you with different types of people? At some point, it is going to wear you down, leave you feeling broken, and with a big hole inside you. It was never meant to fulfil you or give you peace, it is temporary enjoyment. What about the larger effects it has on society? Broken homes, trauma, orphans, disease, rape, children brought up in divided homes, it ultimately destroys not only you, but society too. God is protecting you and all of us too. I could go on and on using statistics, science, and covering all facets of religion, but this was a simple and high-level illustration that perhaps we need to teach religion and morality better and understand God in a better light too. In teaching, we should be teaching matters which are relevant and arm others better to tackle current issues and dilemmas rather than placing an emphasis and focus on topics and stories that will almost never occur. We could be happier and more successful if we just followed the guide on how to optimally live our lives which came directly from our manufacturer. We need to attempt the difficult task of unlearning, relearning and reteaching to try and obtain fuller mosques, better morality, happier and more content individuals and a better quality life and hereafter altogether. 9