Fiqh of Love

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

"Of Love--may God exalt you!--the first part is jesting, and the last part is right earnestness. So majestic are its diverse aspects, they are too subtle to be described; their reality can only be apprehended by personal experience. Love is neither disapproved by Religion, nor prohibited by the Law; for every heart is in God's hands."
- Ibn Hazm

as some of you might know, this past month i attended a class entitled "Fiqh of Love," which was offered by the AlMaghrib Institute. sheik yasir birjas, the instructor for this particiular class, graduated as class valedictorian with highest honors from Madinah University's College of Shariah (Fiqh and Usul) in 1996. suffice it to say, this guy knew his stuff.
the focus of the class encompassed everything related to love in islam: the Sunnah of RasoolAllah saw (treatment of his wives RA); the rulings of love from an islamic perspective; love stories from the Prophet SAW's companions RA; the marriage contract; the wedding night, etc.

the topic of love, which sadly is almost always equated with "sex" here in the west, holds a place of its own in islam. scholars of past have dissected this natural desire or passion called "love" for centuries, but due to cultural beliefs and restrictions, its almost become a taboo for us to discuss "love." due to our own ignorance when it comes to understanding our religion, many of us percieve love as something diabolical, or something "haraam." if you take love, and see it from the islamic perspective, you will know that there is nothing further from the truth than this. in fact there are countless ahadith detailing the love of RasoolAllah saw for his wive's, especially Khadija RA and Aisha RA. these ahadith tell us of his life as a family man, how he would help with the housework: Aisha RA narrated that RasoolAllah SAW would often times sweep the floor, stitch his own shoes, and do whatever else was needed to be done around the house." we arent talking about an ordinary man, rather one who was on the receiving end of divine revelation! the messenger of Allah Ta'ala would do these things!

i could go on and on, and inshallah ill post some more later, but for now id like to share some memorable quotes from sheikh yasir birjas:
sheik: okay, and now on to chapter five: the wedding night and intimacy. i know some of you have been looking forward to this chapter the whole weekend.

sheik: okay guys, so you get the nikkah done, come home from the wedding reception, all the guests have left, and now youre all alone and you dont know what youre gonna be doing...

sheik: ...you know, change it up a little...take it to the garage or some place...

sheik: oh my, i feel so sorry for those of you who arent married. please do dhua that you soon get to experience this...

you know the old phrase "there is no such thing as a stupid question." well, untill last week i was a believer, but then that whole notion was suddenly dismissed when...
question: so if i dont have a wali nearby, and i live on campus, can the local MSA president be my wali?
sheik: ...

and id like to close with reference to an earlier blog post of mine:

May Allah grant glory and eternal salvation to those who know how to stroke a soft cheek in an accomplished manner, to give just accolade to a slender waist, and to enter the sweetest farj with a befitting skill!
~Imam al-Suyuti

and when they came to him and begged "ya faqih! ya faqih of love, share with us what you know, so that we may know what you know, and know not to do that which is disliked when it comes to love! apportion your knowledge, share it with us! educate us so that we may learn to love like you."

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama
sheik speare, faqih of love.