Based Grandma Writes Sex Manual for Muslim Wives (30 Years of Marriage have Taught her a Thing or Two)

Update on 12 Jun 2022: In this article is a reference to a book named “Nawadir Al Ayk” which I mistakenly attributed to Imam Al-Suyuti (rahimahullah.) I recently discovered from some tullab al-ilm that this book is misattributed to the Imam. Either that, or he disassociated from it. He compiled a list of 300 of his texts and said anything outside this list is not from him or he washes his hands of it.

Get your copy of The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind Blowing Sex on Amazon.

Listen to me narrate one of the chapters from “he Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind Blowing Sex”

Some Muslim husbands have a hard time when it comes to the bedroom. On the one hand, you are religiously and culturally expected to judiciously lower your gaze and minimize interactions with non-mahram women. To the best of your ability, you do.

On the other, you expect your good behavior to be rewarded by a lively sex life, with a wife who takes the time to maintain her good looks and shapely figure, and who makes the effort to groom and dress in a way that’s sexually appealing to you. Someone and something to look forward to when you come home after a long day at work, you know?

Not only is this your wife’s religious obligation toward you, it is the unspoken social contract between mates since time immemorial. Otherwise, what would be the point of making all sexual relations illicit except within the confines of marriage?

As the Puerto Rican philosopher-poet Ali Al-Boriqee once said,

This much seems obvious to me and should be obvious to all married Muslim men and women. Not so, according to the feedback I’ve received from several of my male readers.

The primary complaint? Wives are not interested in sex. These women view it as a chore to satisfy their husbands or sex as a commodity to be bartered. When they do “put up with it” they are uninvolved and interested, known as “starfishing.” According to Urban Dictionary, a “starfish” is a woman who is passive, limp, and lifeless in bed.

So, how to fix the situation?

Becoming the Alpha Muslim is only one-half of the equation. Here, you will learn how to make yourself more sexually appealing to your wife and how to manage the dynamics of your relationship so she drops her panties on command.

But who’s going to teach the women?

This is something Mirriam Seddiq asked me when I was a guest on her podcast last year.

Qadar Allahu ma sha fa’ala, after I published my Definitive Guide to Halal and Haram Sex Acts, I was approached by a Muslim woman on Reddit, Umm Al Mulaadhaat (not her real name.) She’s written a sex manual for Muslim women, “The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex,” and wanted me to review her manuscript. Perfect timing.

What’s interesting about her experience is how she was turned away by Muslimah bloggers, websites, and organizations. So much for their claims of “breaking stereotypes” and “pushing boundaries.” Read also: Islamic Feminism – Oxymoron Level: Over 9000!!!

Interestingly enough, the Muslim World used to be far more sexually progressive than we are today. My hypothesis is that due to Western cultural hegemony Muslims have reacted by rejecting aspects of it deemed morally degenerate in order to preserve their Islamic heritage. In doing so, they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater and rejected what is perfectly halal for them enjoy of the ways between a man and a woman.

Many years ago, while listening to a popular da’ee (may Allah accept his shahadah) lecture on the biography of Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, I heard him say, “the Sahaba were more liberal than the conservative Muslims of today and more conservative than the liberal Muslims of today.” Another da’ee I know refers to it as “holier than the Prophet ﷺ syndrome.”

Imam Al-Suyuti wrote a sex manual entitled “Nawadir Al-Ayk” as an appendix to a longer book on the benefits of marriage called “Al-Wishah min Fawa’id al-Nikah.” Update on 12 Jun 2022: I recently discovered from some tullab al-ilm that this book is misattributed to the Imam. Either that, or he disassociated from it. He compiled a list of 300 of his texts and said anything outside this list is not from him or he washes his hands of it.

In [it] he lists sex positions – including more than 48 various on laying down, on one’s side, seated, standing, and on one’s knees. He also mentions techniques for delaying orgasm and different ways to move the penis. He also discusses female orgasm and affirms that women like different things. He also includes a how-to for pleasurable sex. The Imam also opined the best sex manual was “Tuhfat al-’Arus wa-Nuzhat al-Nufus,” by Abu Abdillah ibn Ahmad al-Bija’i.

Imam Al-Ghazali’s Ihya Uloom Al-Din also has a section in the chapter on marriage on how best to have sex. He mentions, for example, that the minimum frequency of sexual intimacy should be once every 4 days unless one has a valid excuse, that the husband should continue to penetrate the wife until she reaches orgasm if he climaxes before her, and other specifics.

Back to our sex manual for Muslim wives

Umm Al-Mulaadhaat was gracious enough to agree to a written interview and also sent me a draft manuscript. Having read it, I can confidently say The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex is the most straightforward, practical, immediately actionable book I’ve read on the subject of sex written by a Muslim.

More importantly, it’s targeted and specific, not generic and superficial. This is a sex manual written by a Muslim woman, for Muslim women, with the intent to help them have raunchy, fresh, and exciting sex lives. The author brings to bear all of her 30 years of marital experience and gives the reader an explicit (though not inappropriately lewd,) step-by-step breakdown on how to keep her husband sexually satisfied and beaming from ear to ear.

For many (too many) Muslim women, this is the talk their mother should have had with them before their wedding night. It’s short, around 80 pages long, and can be read in a single sitting. The information she provides is clearly intended to be put into practice right away. In that sense, it’s more of a workbook than a regular book.

The book spans 36 short chapters, listed here:

• Introduction

• Who is this book for?

• 5 Myths about Muslim sex

  • A pure Muslim can’t be dirty in bed

  • The only way for a Muslim to learn how to be great in bed is by doing haram things before marriage

  • Porn is a great educational tool

  • Women’s magazines and books written by PhDs are excellent sources of sexual education

  • Religious men lose respect for wives who are dirty in bed

• Ready?

• The anatomy of male and female genitalia

• Body image issues

• Genital hygiene

• Birth Control

• Kegels

• Sexting

• Flirting with other men

• Kissing

• Dry humping

• Dressing up (lingerie, role play)

• Lubricants

• How to give a handjob

• How to give a massage

• How to do a strip-tease

• How to give a blowjob

• Your first time

• Sexual positions

  • Girl-on-top positions

  • Doggy-style positions

  • Face-to-face positions

  • Spooning positions

  • Lying on your stomach

  • Lying on your back

• What to say during sex

• How to be a freak in bed

• Between-breast sex

• Femoral sex

• Quickies

• Shower sex

• Rough sex

• Dirty talk

• Forced sex fantasies

• BDSM

• Public sex (Nabeel: this is mentioned to make it clear it’s impermissible unless the couple having sex in the open are certain no one will see them

• Anal play (Nabeel: this is mentioned to make it clear anal sex and anal fingering are impermissible, and stress how much of a sin it is

• Threesomes (Nabeel: this is mentioned to make it clear having sex with one’s co-wives is impermissible because the wives cannot be fully naked in front of each other

• The simple things

“Is this even halal?”

Some of you may be raising your eyebrows, “how is this not haram?” I’ve read the entire manuscript and I don’t see anything objectionable in it. She has also made it clear which activities are strictly haram and does not equivocate.

There are a couple of instances where some of her recommendations are impermissible or blameworthy, e.g. the wife masturbating using her own hand during coitus and using curse words while engaging in dirty talk. Ultimately, as long as they are not engaging in what is clearly haram, it is up to each couple to decide for themselves how much of the book they’d like to try.

“How do I get my hands on this book?”

She plans on publishing it in July, after Ramadan. If you want to get on her pre-sale email list, you should subscribe here. 

By the way, guys, you don’t need to be a woman to subscribe or buy the book. In fact, I think it’s a good idea if you buy this book on behalf of your wife and give it to her as a gift.

Interview with Umm Al-Mulaadhaat, author of “The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex”

N: Why are you using a nom de plume? Are you aware that being anonymous takes away from your credibility? (Hypothetically, you could be some non-Muslim agent provocateur trying to spread sexual deviance in the Muslim community.)

I initially thought about using my real name but decided not to for a number of reasons. Most importantly, like many writers, I wanted to separate between my literary and personal lives. I don’t want to be known to friends and family as “the auntie who wrote that sex book”. Disgusting rumors have been spread based one even less to go on. Other than privacy, however, I felt that separating myself from the book makes it more credible. The content speaks for itself, so people who have an issue with the book will attack the author. Whether comments about ethnicity, age, my socioeconomic status, or something else, people will find a way to dismiss the content of the book because of the author. By taking a pen name, I present myself as a blank Muslim whose only purpose is to pass on the content of the book—to help Muslims maintain healthy marriages by having a good experience in the bedroom.

N: Fair enough. What is your background in this field? Do you have any professional qualifications as a counselor or therapist?

I don’t have any qualifications as a counselor or therapist. I’ve found in my own experience that professional books written by “experts” focused less on useful information and more on theories and jargon. Many books focus on technicalities and biology and psychology. That’s not the goal of my book. A doctor can tell you about the biology of your muscles and about fat and protein. If you want to have an attractive physique, however, you’re better off learning from an in-shape bodybuilder than an overweight doctor.

N: God bless you and your family. What prompted you to write this book?

Ameen. What prompted me to write this book was that I noticed a young Muslimah who was not very happy in her new marriage. After talking to her multiple times, I found out that the issue was that her husband and she were not satisfied sexually. I gave her some tips that I had accumulated over my marriage and hoped it would help her. She came back months later very satisfied and asked me if I could write down what I told her and share it with others. I did and she shared it with her friends who really appreciated it. Then she came back and asked if I could write a more thorough book on the topic. So here it is.

N: It sounds like your career as a sex therapist is recent. How many women would you say you have helped?

I wouldn’t say I’m a sex therapist. Just someone giving common sense advice and practical skills to women who haven’t been taught much. I’d say maybe 8-10 women have read my word document so far. The response was very positive, however, so I decided to expand both the content of the book and the audience.

N: You mentioned “theories” and “jargon” earlier, and now you’ve mentioned “common sense” and “practical.” Can you elaborate on this? What does your book do differently?

What I noticed is that when Muslims learned about sex, they learned from books that are written by PhDs for PhDs. A young woman asked for a book on sex and one of my friends recommended to her a book on the physiology of an orgasm! What my book does differently is that it focuses on having sex, not learning about it. I wanted to take information on how to have sex and put it in one place for couples to benefit from. In that sense, this is not a book about fiqh or anatomy but a book about how to enjoy sex.

N: So, it is more like an Islamic Kama Sutra? Who should read the book? Who is your intended audience?

I wouldn’t really draw parallels to any book. I’m sure others will make parallels for me, but really, my goal was just to write a sex manual for Muslims. As I was sharing this book with others, I learned that this is actually a genre which has already seen Islamic books in the past. Written by no less a scholar than Imam Suyuti. Although in no way am I comparing myself to him, I believe our goals are the same. To make marriage more happy between Muslim couples. For this book, my intended audience is Muslim women. Primarily those who are just married or soon to be married, but I think even those who’ve been married for a while may find things they can use to enhance their bedroom life. Depending on the reception to this book, I may follow up with a book aimed towards Muslim men.

What do you think is the #1 problem Muslim women face when it comes to the act of having sex?

I think the number one problem is misinformation. I say misinformation more than ignorance because many women do get information, just the wrong ones. I don’t have any statistics, but if I had to guess, I would say that the majority of Muslim women (and men) have watched pornography or read erotica. Both of these give unrealistic expectations about sex. That causes problems in the bedroom which then spiral out to other parts of the marriage.

N: Why do you believe pornography and erotica give people unrealistic expectations about sex? And what are these unrealistic expectations?

Both pornography and erotica are fantasies, but they’re fantasies providing education about realities. In porn, women have perfect bodies and are always willing to have sex. There’s no need for buildup and romance, it’s just the actual intercourse. In reality, the buildup and romance are at least as important, if not more so, than the actual act. Porn is consciously made for a third party, the viewer. Everything is performed not for the enjoyment of the couple but for the enjoyment of a third party. What’s enjoyable in real life is not necessarily the same as what is most titillating to someone watching from afar. Erotica is less harmful in my opinion, but still on the same spectrum. People who read it construct long fantasies in their head, expect multiple orgasms, and a perfect body from their spouse. None of these are realistic.

N: Are you aware that real couples film themselves having sex and upload these videos to porn sites? Do these videos create an unrealistic expectation too?

I’m aware of real couples that film themselves having sex. The result is still the same, it’s pornography. People of certain body types upload those videos and people of other body types do not.

N: Ok, summarize your book for us. What topics does it cover? Are you explicit?

Some of the topics covered include anatomy, body image, genital hygiene, birth control, sexting, how to kiss, how to give a handjob, oral sex, different positions, and introduction to BDSM. The nature of the topic means that the majority of the book is very explicit. However, I’ve avoided being crude or needlessly trying to be provocative. The book is only explicit to the level needed to convey the message.

N: Have you tried to get your work featured in online publications whose target audience are Muslim women? What was their response?

I’ve tried contacting some online bloggers and forums who target Muslim women. The overwhelming response has been quite brusque. With the exception of one female blogger who agreed to review it, other outlets either ignored me or informed that they weren’t interested in the topic or felt it wasn’t appropriate. Most disappointing to me was when I contacted someone who had previously advertised a group that conducted sexual education workshop. When I looked into this workshop for my own community, I was horrified to find that it minimized zina and even encouraged young Muslims to “find their own definition of abstinence”. It’s frustrating when such groups are gaining traction in our community while at the same time, people who want to encourage halal relations are told they’re not being proper. One sister told me, “Why would a practicing Muslimah want to read an explicit book like this?” This same sister had promoted the aforementioned sexual education workshop in our community.

N: When will the book be published?

Insha’Allah, I’m hoping to get it published in early July, right after Ramadan. You can buy a copy of The Muslimah Sex Manual: A Halal Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex HERE.