Muslim Sex Shop

O, hey, man who has burned
My lips with the sparkling flames of kisses,
Have you seen anything in the depth of
My two silent eyes of the secret of this madness?

Do you have any idea that, in my heart, I
Hid a dream of your love?
Do you have any idea that of this hidden love
I had a raging fire on my soul?

They have said that that woman is a mad woman
Who gives kisses freely from her lips;
Yes, but kisses from your lips
Bestow life on my dead lips.

May the thought of reputation never be in my head.
This is I who seeks you for satisfaction in this way.
I crave a solitude and your embrace;
I crave a solitude and the lips of the cup.

An opportunity far from the eyes of others
To pour you a goblet from the wine of life,
A bed of roses so that one night
I might give you intoxication.

O, hey, man who has burned my lips
With the flames of kisses,
This is a book without a conclusion,
And you have read only a brief page from it.

About The Poet:

The poem and its author deserve their own separate discussion. Furugh Farrukhzad (1935-67) is one of the most extraordinary Persian or Iranian poets of the twentieth century. Even through perhaps inevitably inadequate translations, one can sense the deep humanity and beauty of her verses. Farrukhzad, born into a middle class Tehran family, came of age in the wake of the CIA-organized coup in 1953 that brought down the regime of nationalist Mohammad Mossadeq and restored the Shah to power. It was an extremely difficult and, in many ways, disheartening period; “eternal twilight,” in the words of one of Farrukhzad’s poems. She held, according to a biographer, a “popular secular intellectual view” of Iranian society.  – Source

In the same way that one is allowed to look at the cornfield or a flower-bed, enjoying its green and breathing in its various odors so long as he does not stretch out his hand for it, but is not allowed to stretch out his hand for a single grain of mustard seed without right to it, as he is not allowed to eat something that is forbidden, so is one allowed to talk to the singing girls, to joke, flirt, and shake hands with them, and to touch them in order to turn them around as long as nothing illicit is involved in it.  Did not Allah himself except al-lamam, ‘the lesser offenses,’ when he said: “Those who avoid the heinous things and indecencies, save lesser offenses-surely thy lord is wide in his forgiveness” (Sura 53:32, Arberry’s translation).

Jahiz then puts forward a number of interpretations of what lamam may mean, including kissing or, If I may use the expression, “petting.“

- Society and the Sexes in Medieval Islam edited by Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot, P. 103

(photo courtesy of yaznotjaz)

How patriotic of them!  Sex does, indeed, cross party lines.  Here are the details from msnbc.com:

“Babeland spokeswoman Pamela Doan told msnbc.com in an interview that the promotion is a first for the company, which she describes as “a sex-positive, women-friendly retailer for sex toys and accessories.

The rewards are no-so-subtle reminders of this year’s campaign rhetoric. For men, it’s the “Maverick,” a “sleeve” for self-pleasuring. According to a press release, “He’s always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo.” Women can choose the “Silver Bullet” mini-vibrator, which is “a magical solution to difficult problems” and “a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!” The promotion lasts through Nov. 11.”

So, head on over to Babeland, and show off your “I voted” sticker proudly.  They have stores in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle.

“In fine literature, though, old fragile men still engaged in erotic affairs are sometimes made the target of mockery.  Of a senile wooer unable to consummate the marriage, the great Sa’di says:

‘That old man who cannot rise without a stick,
How should his stick rise?’”

Society and the Sexes in Medieval Islam edited by Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot, P. 90