If it is said: How can marital relations and their abundance be a virtue, given that Allah Most High commended Yahya [John] ibn Zakariya (peace be upon him) for being continent, and how does Allah commend him for falling short of what is held to be a virtue? And this for ‘Isa [Jesus] ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), who was abstinent from women; and if it were such as it has been regarded to be, he would have had marital relations. So know that Allah Most High commending Yahya for his continence is not as some of them have said – that he was feeble or that he did not have a penis. Rather, the proficient interpreters and critical scholars rejected this and said that this is a deficiency and a shame and is not befitting of the prophets (peace be upon them). However, the meaning of this is that he was preserved from transgressions, that is, he did not carry them out, as he was kept within bounds regarding them. And it is said: He prohibited himself from desires; and it is said: He had no lust for women. And so it is evident to you from this that the lack of ability for marital relations is a deficiency. However, the excellence lies in it being present but then suppressing it, either by waging vigorously, like ‘Isa (peace be upon him), or by finding sufficiency in Allah Most High, like Yahya (peace be upon him), an additional virtue; since many times this causes a preoccupation with and inclination towards this world.