AIDS: What You Don't Know Might Hurt You

AIDS is an acronym; its letters stand for Acquired Immune Defeciency Syndrome. AIDS is believed to be caused by a virus called HIV. HIV is an acronym for Human Immunodefeciency Virus. There is some controversy over whether or not HIV actually causes AIDS, but mainstream scientists are pretty much in agreement that Acquired Immune Defeciency Syndrome (AIDS) is the result of being infected with the the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) . Just as one can not get the flu without the flu virus, one can not get AIDS without the HIV virus. After you contract the flu virus you experience the flu, which includes bodily aches, chills, runny nose etc. After you contract the HIV virus and it has sufficiently damaged your immune system, then you experience AIDS.

Unlike the flu virus, the HIV virus can stay in your body for years before it ever turns into full blown AIDS. That means that you could have stopped practicing illicit (haraam) sex, or doing drugs or that you could have had a blood transfusion with tainted blood, ten or fifteen years ago and contracted the HIV virus, but you may not experience any symptoms. This is why it is important to be tested for the HIV virus even if you have not engaged in haraam activities for many years. It is also important to be tested if your husband engaged in haraam sex, even if it was many years ago, or if your partner engaged in mut'a (temporary marriage) with unchaste women. If you or your partner are now or have been engaged in haraam sex or IV (intravenous i.e. shooting up) drug use or if your husband has married someone either in nikah or mut'a that was unchaste in the paste, then it is wise to be tested for HIV.

HIV is contracted through exchange of bodily fluids with an infected person. Theoretically one can contract the virus through something as simple as "french" kissing, which involves the exchange of saliva as one person sticks their tongue or lips into the mouth of another. The most common way that AIDS is contracted is through sex (it does not matter if it is hetero or homosexual sex, even chaste married people sometimes contract or spread HIV because of past activities). HIV is also frequently contracted through intravenous drug use aka shooting up, and blood transfusions from infected blood. Screening in the United States is very good, so contracting HIV through infected blood in a transfusion is rare here. Screening procedures may not be so good in other countries. It is worthwhile to find out about screening procedures in your own country.

In the United States, HIV tests are routinely offered to pregnant women who are being cared for by doctors or midwives. In most other situations a woman interested in being tested would need to request a test from her doctor. The HIV test consists of drawing blood, collecting urine or scraping a small amount of tissue from the mouth. When your body is infected with a virus, in this case HIV, the body produces proteins that are meant to help fight the virus; these proteins are called antibodies. HIV antibodies are what the test looks for. If the HIV antibodies are present in your bodily fluid, then you are diagnosed as being HIV positive.

The HIV virus can stay in your body for weeks or months before you test positive, but during this time you can still infect others. Some people experience flu-like symptoms when they are first infected, but others experience no symptoms at all. Many people don't get tested until they have full-blown AIDS and are experiencing the symptoms of that disease. There are drugs, treatment and lifestyle changes that can be made that can extend your life for many years. There are people alive today that were diagnosed with HIV 15 or 20 years ago. Finding out early can save your life. No one, especially those belonging to conservative communities, wants to find out that they are HIV positive, but like all things in life denial will do nothing but hurt you. If there is the slightest chance that you could have contracted the virus, just get tested.

The HIV virus works by slowly damaging your immune system. It breaks down your body's natural defenses against disease. After a certain amount of damage has been done your body is unable to fight even the most common and simplest of diseases and something as simple as the flu, which healthy people fight off within a number of days, can actually kill you. It is not AIDS that kills anyone, it is the viruses or bacteria that people come into contact with that their immune system can't fight off that kills them. All HIV and AIDS do is break down your defenses --your immune system--enough that the germs have an easy time of taking over. Your body is like those old cities that used to build tall walls around the city to protect from invaders. The walls are your immune system. HIV and AIDS are a battering ram that breaks down all the walls so that the enemy armies (viruses and bacteria) can come in and slaughter the inhabitants of the city.

AIDS has no cure, but there are treatments and lifestyle changes that can be made that will extend your life for many years. It is true that the time of our life or death is fixed, but Allah (swt) also answers du'a and the efforts you take to keep yourself healthy along with the prayers you make are a powerful du'a. It is also true that life is not only about quantity, but about quality. A healthy person is better able to serve Allah (swt) in a myriad of enjoyable ways. Learn more about testing here.