Maalim ala Tariq al-Iffa
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- مكتبة الصفدي
Maalim ala Tariq al-Iffa (Landmarks on the Path of Chastity) is an Islamic ethical treatise by Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Watban focusing on modesty, the preservation of chastity, and the legal and practical means to prevent illicit sexual relations.
Background and Purpose
The treatise is introduced with a commendation by Nasser ibn Sulayman al-Omar, dated 17 Muharram 1412 AH (1991 CE), praising it as a beneficial work addressing a critical topic often neglected in contemporary society. Al-Watban frames the work around the higher objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shariah), specifically the preservation of lineage (nasl or nasab) and personal honor (ird) as one of the five essential necessities (al-daruriyyat al-khams). Grounded in Quranic verses and prophetic traditions enjoining modesty and guarding private parts, the author argues that because safeguarding chastity is an obligation, all avenues that lead to fornication and indecency must be systematically blocked under the Islamic legal principle of preventing harm.
Structure and Themes
The work divides the means (wasa'il) of safeguarding chastity into three broad categories:
Shared Means for Men and Women
This section outlines general moral and behavioral duties binding upon both genders, including:
- Lowering the gaze (ghadd al-basar) from non-mahram women and youths, whether directly or via television and magazines.
- The prohibition of music and singing.
- Suppressing unlawful thoughts and fantasies by redirecting the mind toward Islamic study or contemplation, and adopting proper sleeping habits.
- Strict observance of the rules of seeking entry permission (isti'dhan), including seeking permission before entering upon female relatives such as mothers and daughters.
- Avoiding false accusations of unchastity (qadhf) and refraining from obscene speech.
- Encouraging timely marriage, fasting for those unable to marry, avoiding solitude, and maintaining righteous companionship.
- Enjoining good and forbidding evil, separating children's beds after the age of ten, providing sound moral upbringing from youth, keeping intimate marital details confidential, avoiding corrupting media and unnecessary travel to permissive societies, and properly covering the awrah.
Measures Pertaining to Men
This division addresses male conduct and interactions with women, including the prohibition of shaking hands with non-mahram women and the prohibition of secluded privacy (khalwah), such as remaining alone with female in-laws or traveling alone with female passengers. It also censures the lack of protective jealousy (dayyuth), commands husbands to cultivate lawful protective jealousy (ghayrah), and outlines the prohibition of arriving home unannounced late at night after long journeys.
Measures Pertaining to Women
The final division addresses female modesty, focusing on the obligation of full hijab—which the author defines as covering the entirety of the body, including the face—drawing upon evidence from the Quran, Sunnah, and analogy, while responding to counter-arguments. The author completed the treatise in Riyadh.
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