Arguing that Islam is a lyrical view of life in which sexuality enjoys a privileged status, this work represents an attempt to integrate the religious and the sexual. It examines the problem of whether this harmony of sexuality and religious faith is achieved in practice. Drawing on both Arabic and Western sources, the author describes the place of sexuality in the traditional Islamic view of the world. Beginning with the Quran, Professor Bouhdiba confronts the question of male supremacy in Islam, and the strict separation of the masculine and the feminine. He gives an account of purification practices, of Islamic attitudes towards homosexuality, concubinage, legal marriage, and of the sexual taboos laid down by the Quran. He assesses contemporary sexual practice, including eroticism, misogyny and mysticism, and concludes that the ideal Islamic model of sexuality has been debased. Published as part of the Saqi Essentials, representing a benchmark of scholarly writing on the cultures of the Middle East.