The Light of the Holy Qur'an — Page 45
Fo o T N o T e F r o M PAG e 25 Fo o T N o T e F r o M PAG e 25 45 in his capacity as a bishop and, it seems that, holding the Gospel in his hands, he would lecherously ogle the daughters and daugh- ters-in-law of his laity and then enter into illicit relationships with them. The second conclusion is that his people took no offence at his illicit relationships and did not turn such a pervert out of the church, nor did they defrock him, even though at least they would have known that he was a person with an impure heart and harboured unclean intentions, for his filthy verses that spoke of illicit love affairs were not hidden from them. So what greater evi- dence would there be to support the fact that the whole people were steeped in sin and debauchery? Their churches were like the brothels and there was no better place for their impure and per- verted men and women to get together than these churches. In other words, they found the opportunity to satisfy their carnal passions in these very churches. Not only was al-Akh t al himself a slave of his own carnal passions, but he also did not consider any Christian woman or girl to be chaste. In his biography, pub- lished together with D iwa n al-Akh t al by the Christian historians, it is written that he was once also imprisoned in the Church of Damascus in connection with his affairs with women and it was alleged that he did not consider Christian women to be chaste. However, on the word of a noble and eminent Muslim the bishop of Damascus released him. But al-Akh t al did not change his opin- ion till his death. His verses concerning Christian women are too well known even today. On page 339 of the same book on the life of al-Akh t al, it is written that he was prolific in praising wine in his poetry and was well acquainted and experienced in the benefits of alcohol. Then, on page 337 of the biography, it is written that al-Akh t al was a