Editing Celibacy (section)

==Islam==
{{See also|Marriage in Islam}}
Islamic attitudes toward celibacy have been complex, Muhammad denounced it, however some [[Sufi]] orders embrace it. Islam does not promote celibacy; rather it condemns [[premarital sex]] and [[extramarital sex]].<ref>[[Amin Ahsan Islahi]], Tadabbur-i Qur'an, vol. 5, 400.</ref><ref>{{qref|24|33|b=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Semerdjian |first1=Elyse |title="Off the Straight Path": Illicit Sex, Law, and Community in Ottoman Aleppo |date=2008 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=9780815651550 |page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZzuBMnBKfUC&q=bestiality+zina&pg=PA53 |access-date=13 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Shahnaz |title=Zina, Transnational Feminism, and the Moral Regulation of Pakistani Women |date=2011 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=9780774841184 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9IfJl4J7MAgC&q=adultery+fornication+zina&pg=PA8 |access-date=13 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Akande |first1=Habeeb |title=A Taste of Honey: Sexuality and Erotology in Islam |date=2015 |publisher=Rabaah Publishers |isbn=9780957484511 |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKyPCgAAQBAJ&q=adultery+fornication+zina&pg=PA145 |language=en}}</ref> In fact, according to Islam, marriage enables one to attain the highest form of righteousness within this sacred spiritual bond but the Qur'an does not state it as an obligation. The [[Qur'an]] ([[Q57:27]]) states, "But the Monasticism which they (who followed Jesus) invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them but only to please God therewith, but that they did not observe it with the right observance."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tafsir Al-Jalalayn {{!}} Sura Al-Hadid (57) Verse No. 27 |url=https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=57&tAyahNo=27&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2 |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=Altafsir.com}}</ref> Therefore, religion is clearly not a reason to stay unmarried although people are allowed to live their lives however they are comfortable; but relationships and sex outside of marriage, let alone forced marriage, is definitely a sin, "Oh you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will" ([[Q4:19]]). In addition, marriage partners can be distractions from practicing religion at the same time, "Your mates and children are only a trial for you" ([[Q64:15]]) however that still does not mean Islam does not encourage people who have sexual desires and are willing to marry. Anyone who does not (intend to) get married in this life can always do it in the Hereafter instead.

Celibacy appears as a peculiarity among some Sufis.<ref>{{cite book|title=The World's Religions: Continuities and Transformations|editor-first1=Peter B.|editor-last1=Clarke|editor-first2=Peter|editor-last2=Beyer|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBgn3xB75ZcC&pg=PA692|page=692|isbn=978-1135211004}}</ref>

Celibacy was practiced by women saints in Sufism.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Women's Mosques in Chinese Islam: A Mosque of Their Own|first1=Maria|last1=Jaschok|first2=Jingjun|last2=Shui|edition=illustrated|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV9_YvgUmpsC&pg=PA43|page=43|isbn=0700713026}}</ref> Celibacy was debated along with women's roles in Sufism in medieval times.<ref>{{cite book|title=Women in Muslim Societies: Diversity Within Unity|editor-first1=Herbert L.|editor-last1=Bodman|editor-first2=Nayereh Esfahlani|editor-last2=Tohidi|year=1998|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFzdA2Hini4C&pg=PA12|page=12|isbn=1555875785}}</ref>

Celibacy, poverty, meditation, and mysticism within an ascetic context along with worship centered around saints' tombs were promoted by the Qadiri Sufi order among Hui Muslims in China.<ref>{{cite book|title=Islam Outside the Arab World|editor1-first=David|editor1-last=Westerlund|editor2-first=Ingvar|editor2-last=Svanberg|year=1999|publisher=St. Martin's Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weYQMv2RqCgC&pg=PA199|page=199|isbn=0312226918}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Islam Outside the Arab World|first1=David|last1=Westerlund|first2=Ingvar|last2=Svanberg|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weYQMv2RqCgC&pg=PA199|page=199|isbn=978-1136113307}}</ref> In China, unlike other Muslim sects, the leaders (Shaikhs) of the [[Qadiriyya]] Sufi order are celibate.<ref>{{cite book|title=Muslim Diversity: Local Islam in Global Contexts|editor-first=Leif O.|editor-last=Manger|volume=26 of NIAS studies in Asian topics: Nordisk Institut for Asienstudier|number=Nordic Institute of Asian Studies : Nias Studies in Asian Topics, Number 26 |issn=0142-6028|edition=illustrated|year=1999|publisher=Psychology Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHjR3yeIWzUC&pg=PA118|page=118|isbn=070071104X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford History of Islam|editor-first=John L.|editor-last=Esposito|edition=illustrated|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00john|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00john/page/452 452]|isbn=0195107993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Central Asia and the Caucasus: Transnationalism and Diaspora|editor1-first=Touraj|editor1-last=Atabaki|editor2-first=Sanjyot|editor2-last=Mehendale|edition=illustrated|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWMyFWAZLCwC&pg=PA197|page=197|isbn=0203495829}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Central Asia and the Caucasus: Transnationalism and Diaspora|first=Dru C.|last=Gladney|editor1-first=Touraj|editor1-last=Atabaki|editor2-first=Sanjyot|editor2-last=Mehendale|edition=illustrated|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EeHWWBpn14C&pg=PA197|page=197|isbn=1134319940}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic|first=Dru C.|last=Gladney|issue=149 of East Asian Monographs|volume=149 of Harvard East Asian monographs|issn=0073-0483|edition=illustrated|year=1996|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_hJ9aht6nZQC&pg=PA44|page=44|isbn=0674594975}}</ref> Unlike other Sufi orders in China, the leadership within the order is not a hereditary position, rather, one of the disciples of the celibate Shaikh is chosen by the Shaikh to succeed him. The 92-year-old celibate Shaikh Yang Shijun was the leader of the Qadiriya order in China as of 1998.<ref>{{cite book|title=Familiar strangers: a history of Muslims in Northwest China|first=Jonathan Neaman|last=Lipman|year=1998|publisher=University of Washington Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8Nzux7z6KAC&pg=PA73|page=89|isbn=0295800550}}</ref>

Celibacy is practiced by Haydariya Sufi [[dervishes]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Sufism|first=John|last=Renard|series=Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series|year=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqG240d2L5sC&pg=PA104|page=104|isbn=0810865408}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The A to Z of Sufism|first=John|last=Renard|volume=44 of The A to Z Guide Series|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTlmtoozRV0C&pg=PA104|page=104|isbn=978-0810863439}}</ref>