Azlan Othman
Arabic and religious school students yesterday sat in for a talk on promiscuous behaviour and its repercussions, discussed during a virtual religious programme surrounding the theme ‘Prohibition of Close Proximity’.
Islam strictly forbids such act: The close-knit nature between a man and woman who are not mahrams (a person with whom marriage is generally permissible) could result in the couple behaving immorally, and would likely lead to adultery.
Statistics show that the social ills commonly reported in Brunei Darussalam are tied to drug abuse, fraud, theft, alcohol consumption, close proximity and adultery.
The Sultanate’s main concern is in regulating the interaction between men and women, especially in maintaining women’s dignity and protecting society from depraved moral and degrading behaviour. Islam emphasises on upholding good character, morals and noble behaviour.
Allah the Almighty’s close proximity prohibition comes with good reason: Refraining from adultery protects the offspring, prevents out-of-wedlock births and the abandonment of illegitimate children.
If not weeded out swiftly, widespread acts of close proximity will bring about societal issues.
Islamic teachings prohibit adultery as it is a great sin that can affect harmony if it is allowed to spread. Promiscuity can also bring about fatal sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The nationwide religious programme began with the recitation of Selawat Tafrijiyyah, Sayyidul Istighfar and Surah Al-Fatihah, before continuing with the religious talk, recitation of Surah Al-Waqi’ah, Doa for protection against COVID-19 and the Doa Allah Peliharakan Sultan dan Brunei Darussalam.
The national religious programme was split into two sessions: At 8am for Arabic school students, and 2pm for those in religious schools.
