Naked Chastity

Dora Muhammad shares an intimate collection of poetry drawn from her life of chastity for over 24 years. From her vow taken as a teenager to her sustained commitment through the end of her thirties, she offers a lyrical narrative that virtue demands more than just not having casual and uncommitted sex. Chastity will move us beyond celibacy and abstinence and cover every fiber of our being in a remarkable and irrevocable way. Speaking to those single and married, she presents a paradigm where sex is sacred, and the consecration of sexual communion within marriage aligns our individual purity with our mutual pleasure, and produces a healing covering for and from our holy matrimony. Inspired by the description of Jesus' healing power as virtue going out from him in the Biblical account of the woman with the issue of blood touching the hem of his garment, she speaks of the spiritual and creative gifts that virtue has imbued into her being. She writes to affirm that we must protect the virtue of our children to allow them to grow into their fullest potential and power; that we can reclaim our own virtue regardless of our past experiences or current circumstances; that virtue is present in the world today to overcome it and transform us through healing in the process of being made whole. This is not a manual, guide or textbook. It seeks to edify others along their personal work of virtue, to nourish seeds of chastity; and through its blossoms, inspire others to refuse to dwell in the land of lack and longing but seek to thrive in an oasis of an abundant outpouring of God's love and healing, where virtue is affirmed.