Islam, Christianity, and Judaism have had a profound impact on male-female relationships since their inception. All three faiths have set the standards on what is proper and improper, what is permissible and prohibited, and what is moral and immoral. All seem to agree that a man and a woman should not covet one another outside the sanctity of marriage. Thus, all three have set precautions and punishments to help avoid immoral relations between men and women.

Thomas Hardy in his Victorian novel, Tess of the D’ubervilles explores these various moral and immoral avenues pertaining to relationships between men and women. Looking at the novel from a strictly religious standpoint, one may see Tess’s religiously prohibited actions and that of her counterparts lead to her inevitable doom. Although a strong Christian presence serves as a backdrop to the novel, it would be interesting to explore the novel from the view of other religions, in particular from an Islamic standpoint. Viewed from this moral angle, one discovers Tess’s unfortunate death could have been prevented had certain actions took place throughout the novel.

From an Islamic perspective, the main source of all of Tess’s problems started with Alec D’ubervilles’ seduction of her. Alec’s affair with Tess led to Angle Clare’s desertion of her, which in turn led to Tess’s returning to Alec, and consequently murdering him. Although the consequence of Alec and Tess’s affair is quite extreme, the point is that such an affair could have an undesirable aftereffect. Islam as well as Christianity and Judaism acknowledge such ramifications and therefore take certain precautions, cutting the problem at its root.

First, during Alec’s preliminary meeting with Tess, Hardy describes him as a womanizer. When he first spoke to Tess it was with an endearment usually held for acquaintances if not for dear friends, "Well my, Beauty," (Hardy, 43) he calls her. He also repeatedly calls her "my pretty girl" (Hardy, 43), while looking at her "in a way that made her blush a little," (Hardy, 43). It is this type of "gazing" and "name calling" that Islam forbids between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. In fact, the Qur’an states:

This verse of Surat Al-Nur sets a steady pattern for male-female relationships. Islam acknowledges that an attraction starts with a look. God, therefore, orders men and women to lower their gazes, preventing any eye goggling or staring. Although Islam does not condemn the allurement between men and women, it struggles to cage it until proper release is found within the vows of marriage. Had Alec lowered his gaze, curbing his attraction to Tess, he would have found it much easier to avoid acting upon his natural affinity to her.

Furthermore, throughout their relationship, Alec continuously tries to isolate himself with Tess. In chapter 10, he tried twice to convince Tess of joining him on a ride home while her companions enjoy their late night dancing. Sensing his intentions, she "had never quite gotten over her original mistrust of him." (Hardy, 75). She refuses both times. He finally returns to claim her once more and she willingly joins him. On their way home, Alec loses his way on purpose "in order to prolong companionship with [Tess]," (Hardy, 85). This inevitably results in Alec’s complete seduction of Tess.

Islamically, a woman should not allow herself to be alone with a man and vice versa. In fact, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a Hadith states that if a man and a woman are alone, the third presence is of the Devil, meaning that the Devil is their to tempt them to satisfy their attraction to one another through physical means. Since God created man to be attracted to a woman, when alone, their attraction might lead to physical touching. Since this could have worse ramifications, such as with Alec and Tess, God decreed any isolation between a man and woman forbidden. If a Muslim woman wanted to talk privately with a man, her Mihrim, or male guardian, must always be present. The Mihrim’s purpose is not to interfere with their private discussion, but to merely prevent any physical touching.

Interestingly, this concept of a Mihrim, or chaperone, was quite prevalent in earlier Western societies. It is unfortunate that Alec and Tess did not abide by these moral guidelines. If they had, much of Tess’s later miseries could have been prevented. Of course, Alec’s seduction of Tess is in itself an immoral act punishable by death in the Judeo-Christian tradition and by 80 lashes under Islamic Shariah or law.

Another precaution that Tess could have taken to prevent her death at the end of the novel was not to reveal her affair with Alec to Angle Clare. From a Western point of view, we feel morally obligated to confess any previous major sins to our life long partners. One witnesses such dilemmas in our daily television soap operas where a married man or woman, in a moment of weak judgement, kisses a member of the opposite sex. Under Judeo-Christian tradition, one is obligated to confess such sins. This concept is the root of Catholicism’s mandatory confessions. Islamically, however, the situation is reversed. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was quoted to say in a Hadith:

This Hadith teaches us that as long as a person repents to God and genuinely feels remorseful about his/her sin, he/she need not reveal it as long as God concealed it. Consequences of revealing sins to others could be grave. People rarely forgive as readily as God forgives, as shown through Angel’s actions. Also, the chance of increasing gossip and character slander increases ten fold. This Hadith serves as both a personal protection as well as a social protection. Tess and Angel’s confessions to one another of their previous affairs resulted in nothing more than hard feelings. Had they not felt compelled to confess all, they might have continued in their relationship together. This would have prevented Angel’s desertion of Tess, Tess’s return to Alec, and finally, Tess’s murder of Alec. The only time one should confess a sin is if it has an impact on people’s lives. For example, if Tess and Alec’s child, Sorrow, had lived, Tess would have been obligated to inform Angel since Sorrow would be his responsibility upon marrying Tess.

On a side note, God commands us in the Qur’an to "Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry but a woman similarly guilty" (Qur’an 54:7). Alec, Angel, and Tess are all guilty of fornication at one point or another in their lives. It is ironic that Hardy has destined all three to marry one another at certain intervals in the novel.

Furthermore, Angel and Tess could have prevented additional complications had Angel forgiven Tess’s affair. Aside from the fact that in not forgiving Tess for the same sins that he was guilty of committing deems him a hypocrite, it could have prevented much of Tess’s later agony. Islam, or any religion for that matter, encourages forgiveness. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to characterize a strong man or woman not by their physical endowments, but by their ability to forgive when they possess the power to do otherwise. Angel had the power not to forgive Tess. His culture and society allowed him, as a man, to condemn his wife’s actions. On the other hand, if God himself readily forgives a true repenter, could not a mere human forgive his wife? Abu Bakr (May God be pleased with him), a companion of the prophet (PBUH) was guilty of doing exactly what Angel did. He was guilty of not forgiving, even though God forgave. He had stopped financing a man named Mistah because he had slandered the prophet’s wife, Aisha. As a result, God revealed in the Qur’an the following verses:

Angel should have been more readily forgiving. After all, Tess’s sin was not only the same as his, but it took place before she even knew him.

Finally, Angel’s desertion of Tess after his unforgiving manner leads to greater evils later on in the story. Islamically, as her husband, Angel had certain obligations towards Tess. Firstly, he is her maintainer and caretaker. He must provide for her financially and otherwise. Prophet Muhammad said, "All of you are caretakers, one of the other. A man is the caretaker of those under his care and a woman is the caretaker of those under her care (Bukhari, 1002). In marrying Tess, Angel took upon the responsibility of caring for Tess. By leaving her, he not only destroys their sanctity of marriage, but he also ignores his responsibility. Also, Islamically, Angel is obligated to treat Tess with kindness. The Prophet once said, "the best of you is the best to his wife" (Bukhari, 1003). Unfortunately, Angel did not treat Tess with much respect. In fact, because of his uncontrolled jealousy, Angel chose to leave Tess for a year. The Qur’an urges husbands to be kind and considerate to their wives, even if a wife falls out of favor with her husband, "O you who believe! You are forbidden to treat [women] with harshness…on the contrary, live with them on a footing of kindness and equity" (Qur’an 4:19).

Patient behavior was the practice of the Prophet, even when his wife dared to address him harshly. Once his mother-in-law- saw her daughter strike him with her fist on his noble chest. When the enraged mother -in-law began to reproach her daughter, the Prophet smilingly said, "Leave her alone; they do worse than that." And once Abu Bakr, his father-in-law, was invited to settle some misunderstanding between him and Aisha. The Prophet said to her, "Will you speak, or shall I speak?" Aisha said, "You speak, but do not say except the truth." Abu Bakr was so outraged that he immediately struck her severely, forcing her to run and seek protection behind the back of the Prophet. Abu Bakr said, "O you the enemy of herself! Does the Messenger of God say but the truth?" The Prophet said, "O Abu Bakr, we did not invite you for this [harsh dealing with Aisha], nor did we anticipate it." Returning to our novel, had Angel stuck by his wife’s side and took care of her, she would not have found her self obligated to turn to another man’s arms which is even a bigger sin than her affair before marriage.

In conclusion, after a close exploration of what could have happened had Angle, Alec, and Tess followed Islamic Shariah, one clearly notes that Tess’s death at the end of the novel could have been avoided. If Alec had lowered his gaze and refrained from seducing Tess, their affair would have been non-existent. If Angel and Tess concealed the sins that God screened, the rift in their marriage would be non-existent. If Angel had forgiven Tess as readily as she forgave him, he would not have felt it necessary to leave her for a year. Finally, if Angel stood by his husbandry responsibilities despite Tess’s supposedly unforgivable behavior, Tess would not have returned to Alec and murdered him. Allah says in the Qur’an,