The Muslim religion is a religion that is perceived in the West as a religion in which the status of women is lower than men. He is also believed to have a puritanical outlook. Therefore, it will come as a surprise to many people that there are books that extol the virtues of good sex and, as a corollary, sex with them. One such book is The Scented Garden, supposedly written by Sheikh Nefzawi.

Not much is known about this man. But the life of the man who translated Sir Francis Richard Burton’s “The Scented Garden” is fairly well documented. Burton did a monumental job translating this book from Arabic in the late 1980s. The Scented Garden was commissioned to be written by the Grand Vizier of Tunis and Jefzawi carried out his instructions.

The book makes an interesting reading since interspersed throughout the book are a series of stories with a sexual tinge that elucidate the theories about sex proposed by Sheikh Nefzawi. The basic theme of the book is that the generative act is a source of great pleasure. He advises the lover to live with a woman only after exciting her with playful caresses, kisses and licks. The sheikh also discusses the various positions that must be adopted for sexual love. Details 36 of them. However, some positions are fanciful and may not be practicable, but they are not detrimental to the text of the book.

The sheik illustrates his theories with a series of stories in the book. These stories, if read alone, can excite any reader’s imagination. One of the stories concerns Bauloul, a jester. This man had the gift of seducing a woman with just his sense of humor. During each mating, the princess indulges the jester with joyous abandon. The jester pleases the princess by kissing her vulva and her wet purple dome; the clitoris.

Another tale in the book is the story of Joida who loved her neighbor, a woman named Fadehat. Joida decided that the best part of winning a battle is the offense. Maybe he took a sheet of Clausewitz’s principles. He continued to enter the lady’s room and undressed before her. The sight moved the lady so much that she was very much in love with what she saw. She allowed Joida to undress her and Sheikh records that Joidi mated with the lady a total of twenty-seven times during the course of the night.

Another interesting story is that of the prophetess Shechat Temira, who was seduced by the heretic Mosailama. The act had such a profound effect on the prophetess that she completely forgot about her work and prayer. Mosailama carried the prophetess on her back, on all fours and in many more diverse positions.

The sheikh displays tremendous knowledge of the sexual act throughout the pages of the volume. Chapter after chapter establishes the writer as a master of the act of procreation. One can simply marvel at the infinite knowledge of the sheikh. The Perfumed Garden also defines the importance of foreplay and acts of tenderness such as kisses, caresses and the use of the tongue. These are good lessons in today’s ‘fast’ sex environment.

The sheikh has also contributed his knowledge of female organs. He classifies the vulva into forty-one types and names each type. The male organ is classified into thirty-nine types, and one may be astonished at the sheikh’s knowledge. It is an exciting read.

The last part of the text details the different diets to maintain sexual vigor. The sheikh’s recipes include eating various eggs cooked in cinnamon and pepper and fried with butter. Drinking camel milk mixed with honey is a strong recommendation. The reader can try some of the recipes listed. If nothing else, this will be a happy pass back in time, but finally we must thank Burton for translating this masterpiece that undoubtedly ranks as one of the best erotica books of all time. For this reason only Burton is immortal.