Islam encourages its followers to lead a moral life, free of sins and crimes. Allah the exalted says in the Holy Qur’an, “O ye who believe do not entertain the Satanic thoughts. If you follow the Satanic thoughts then know that he (Satan) prescribes obscenity and indecency.” (24:21) At another place the Holy Qur’an says, “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! God is Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their chests, and not to reveal their adornment.” (24:31) It warns the believers, “And come not near unto adultery; surely it is a foul thing and an evil way.” (17:32). Since sexual desires can be morally fulfilled within a marriage, Islam encourages and prescribes marriage for every person of marriageable age. Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said that marriage is my way. Those who do not follow my way are not of me. (Bokhari & Muslim) Allah the exalted says in the Holy Qur’an, “Those among you who are widows, get them married too.” (24:32) Islam also prescribes the purpose of marriage. “They (women) are a protection for you and you (Men) are a protection for them.” (2:187) So, Islam understands that sexual relations are a biological requirement of an individual and provides legal and moral means to fulfil these desires. Holy Prophet (peace be on him) said, “Whoever guarantees me that he will guard his chastity, I will guarantee him paradise. (Bokhari) No one commits adultery while still remaining a believer, for Faith is more precious to Allah than such an evil act. (Bokhari) Since adultery is destructive for the family unit and the society as a whole, Islam declares it a crime and prescribes punishment for it. Allah the exalted says in the Holy Qur’an, “The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each one of them with a hundred stripes. And let not the pity for the twain take hold of you in executing the judgement.” (24:2) Before a person can be punished for adultery the charge has to be proven in a court of law. The requirement for the proof is four witnesses in addition to the accuser. This strict requirement of the proof discourages people to make such allegations lightly. But if such proof is available, the parties become liable for the Hadd punishment of one hundred lashes. If such high degree of proof is not available, the crime of adultery can still be prosecuted under the law of Ta’zir, which requires a lower level of proof and the punishment will also be lighter. (Muhammad Taqi Usmani - The Islamization of Laws in Pakistan 2012-10-21) It should be remembered that rape (Arabic = Zināʾ bil Jabr) is a separate category of crime and requirements of proof are also different. In some Muslim countries laws were enacted which required four eye witnesses to prove adultery in addition to the accuser. This requirement is obviously near impossible to fulfil. Unfortunately, this requirement was also enacted in cases of rape. The result was that the accuser of rape, a woman, was required to produce four eye witnesses of the crime. Thousands of women were convicted of false accusation on this basis and it became impossible to prosecute the crime of rape. Of course, Islam does not have any such requirements. This was due to the wrong understanding of the teachings of Islam and the Holy Qur’an. This resulted in great misery for thousands of women and became a human rights issue. Fortunately, these laws have been revised in favor of women.