It turned out how to have sex during Lent: “The intimate life of spouses is a duty”

It’s Lent, Ramadan and spring – what to do with carnal love?

During the last week of March and the first of April, the strictest fasts coincide for representatives of the most widespread religions in Russia: in Orthodoxy, Lent began on March 18 and will last 40 days until May 4. Muslim Ramadan began on March 11 and ends after one lunar month, that is, on April 9. Even non-believers know that during fasting in all religions there are restrictions on food, but even many believers do not know whether sex is allowed during this period.

After talking with the priest and the imam, we found amazing coincidences.

The Orthodox fast is longer than the Muslim fast by 10 days and the period of fasting itself – refusal of food and drink in principle – is from 10 pm to 12 noon. During an active day, abstinence sets in: not refusal, but restriction.

“Lent is not prohibitions, but a time for educating oneself, cleansing the body, talking with God and testing willpower,” explains Orthodox clergyman Father Alexey. – Fasting can be monastic, the strictest, or at home, when Orthodox homes refuse non-lenten food and pleasures, abstain, but do not show pride in public, demonstratively refusing, say, treats. This is a matter of faith and responsibility of everyone. It is important to remember the main goal of Lent – to give up excesses and entertainment in order to make room for spiritual food.

During Lent, believers exclude meat, dairy products, eggs and fish from the menu. On some days, even vegetable oil is prohibited. Alcohol is prohibited, but not completely: it is allowed on Sundays, but without abuse.

“It’s important to understand for yourself what excess is for you,” explains Father Alexey. – Even children observe fasting. Let’s say, if a child usually drinks tea with three candies, then let him have only one during Lent. Because one sweetness for tea may be necessary, but two more are a way to aggravate and prolong the pleasure. And it’s the same for adults. If it is impossible to refuse, for example, when visiting, then do not show pride and drink a glass of wine, then come and repent. But not a bottle for the purpose of getting drunk, this is already a conscious sin. It’s the same with all other entertainment – ​​TV, music, the Internet. Not everyone today can completely refuse them, but everyone can reduce their consumption. Everything is according to the will of the believer himself. Of course, no one will condemn an ​​athlete who is on a protein diet or who is sick with a certain diet for violating the requirements of Lent. If a person needs it, then it is allowed. The main thing is awareness.

– What about intimacy?

– As you probably know, the Orthodox Church does not welcome premarital sexual relations, and extramarital sex is a sin, so we are talking only about spouses. Weddings and weddings during Lent are not allowed, but marital intimacy is at the discretion of the believers themselves. Of course, ideally during Lent, even spouses are advised to abstain from intimacy as a way of obtaining pleasure. But there should be no pressure or deprivation here. For example, if a wife observes the Fast, and her husband really desires her, she should not refuse him, so as not to plunge the man into the need for fornication. If you love your other half during Lent, the Lord will understand this. But if you begin to put pressure, coerce both loved ones and strangers, allow negative words and thoughts, quarrels, aggression, envy and slander, these are much more terrible sins in the eyes of the Lord.

For devout Muslims, Ramadan, the strictest of the fasts, is shorter than the Orthodox fast by one decade, but they have complete abstinence not at night, like the Orthodox, but during the day – from sunrise to sunset. During daylight hours, an observant Muslim should neither eat nor drink, only pray. Neither plain water, nor chewing gum, nor even thoughts of food are allowed. But after sunset, the faithful are free to eat everything that Islam allows on all other days – that is, everything that is halal. But alcohol and pork are always sinful for Muslims, regardless of fasting. But how is their intimacy?

“Shariah considers intimate relationships between a husband and wife a permissible act even during Ramadan,” answers Imam Ali, a minister of one of the Moscow mosques. – The intimate life of spouses is not only a joy, but also a responsibility that cannot be neglected. And if timely sex saved one of the spouses from adultery, there is a reward for him from the Almighty. During Ramadan, you just shouldn’t indulge in this, like food, before sunset.