What does the quran say about homosexuality

Aaron Y.

You can often get questions or comments from Muslim students about homosexuality in Islam. They generally claim that homosexuality is banned by the Quran. But if you continue to ask, they often do not know the statements and they get stuck in "it is just not allowed, it is haram". It is true that there are a number of quotes in the Quran referring to the story of Sodom which seem to prohibit sex between men. But there is more to say about it. The Quran mentions sex between men several times, almost all of them in the context of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which some city inhabitants demand sexual access to the messengers sent by God to the prophet Lot or Lut. The Quranic story is almost the same as the version in the Bible.

What does the quran say about homosexuality

Christopher van der Krogt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Like pre-modern scholars of law and ethics, these books assume heteronormativity. As a concept, homosexuality is relatively recent, even if there is plenty of evidence for homoerotic pleasure in the past — albeit illicit in religious terms. Scriptures and later writers usually referred only to particular sexual acts and did not raise the issue of personal sexual orientation. For religious conservatives, though, both Muslim and Christian, the occasional derogatory reference to same-sex acts is enough to prove their inherent sinfulness in all circumstances. More liberal interpreters point to broader ethical considerations such as compassion and empathy. They argue that the condemnations of scripture do not apply to committed relationships founded on love. Such a perspective, however, is inevitably more common among believers concerned with human rights, influenced by gender theory, and trained in contextual and holistic methods of interpretation. Leviticus cf. The possibility that one party has been coerced is not discussed: both are defiled. However, the offence seems to be no worse than other capital crimes mentioned in the same context, such as adultery and incest. Paul evidently regarded the prohibition of sexual acts between men or between women as violations of natural law known even to non-Jews — at least if their minds were not clouded by idolatry Romans —32; —

The Quran deals explicitly with Sodomy Liwat, named after Lot and his people. Retrieved 3 May

The above discussion was based on the assumptions that both verses 15 and 16 relate to the fornication or adultery committed between men and women. However, some commentators of the Holy Qur'an, including Qadi Thanaullah Panipati, are of the view that verse 16 refers to homosexual act committed between two males. Verse 16 is translated as follows:. Here the Arabic word used for 'those two of you is a masculine pronoun which presumes males on both sides. On this basis, these commentators have opined that this verse relates to two males committing unnatural shameful act, i. The commentators, who take both verses as referring to fornication or adultery, refute this argument on the principle that in general usage masculine expressions include feminine also. Be that as it may, the possibility of a reference to homosexuality in this verse cannot be ruled out.

Sexuality in Islam contains a wide range of views and laws, which are largely predicated on the Quran , and the sayings attributed to Muhammad hadith and the rulings of religious leaders fatwa confining sexual activity to marital relationships between men and women. Contraceptive use is permitted for birth control. Homosexual acts are strictly forbidden. Islam has strongly emphasized the concept of decency and modesty haya and chastity; besides the lawful sexuality, priority is given to modesty and chastity both inside and outside the marital relationships. The Quran warns against immoral lust fahisha , [14] [15] and the hadith literature , modesty has been described as "a part of faith". Islam has a long tradition of pragmatism with respect to sex education, with sex being readily discussed and not subject or taboo as long as the topics under discussion were Islamically permissible.

What does the quran say about homosexuality

In the wake of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that took the lives of 49 people, there has been much speculation around gunman Omar Mateen's motives for the attack. The rationale for the crime, first considered to be a straight man's act of homophobic violence, became self-loathing when it came to light that for years Mateen had corresponded on gay dating apps and was a regular patron of the very club on which he mounted his murderous attack. In each case, Mateen's religion of Islam was isolated as the underlying cause of violence. I have been solicited countless times to "explain" Muslims' alleged homophobia, before but especially after the Orlando tragedy, and each time I have wondered why this homophobia is taken as a given. What is Islam's stance on homosexuality? This question is highly vexed and impossible to answer, as there are not one but many stances, not one but many Islamic schools of thought, and scholars have rightly offered much-needed criticism of the idea that there is one monolithic body called Islam that can be consistent over time and space, let alone have stances. An equally thorny and interesting question regards what we mean by "homosexuality. The answer to this question greatly impacts whether this highly variable assembly of beliefs, practices, institutions and texts we call "Islam" actually condemns what we might think it condemns. Starting from the terrain of the obvious, we can get some misunderstandings out of the way.

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Depriving transgender people of their inheritance, humiliating, insulting or teasing them were also declared haraam. According to Kugle, "where the Qur'an treats same-sex acts, it condemns them only so far as they are exploitive or violent. Societies in the Islamic world have recognized "both erotic attraction and sexual behavior between members of the same sex". In Iran, in , Ayatollah Khomeini declared transgender surgical operations allowable. The Prophet said: Do I not see that this one knows what here lies. Archived from the original on 29 October Archived from the original on 19 June Retrieved on 26 June In this regard, IS departs from other jihadist groups. Despite this, those who do not commit to reassignment surgery are not accepted to be trans. Archived from the original on 19 April Retrieved 28 March Galvez, Samantha 13 June World Religion News. CiteSeerX

Views : What is the punishment for homosexuality? Is there any differentiation between the one who does it and the one to whom it is done?

More liberal interpreters point to broader ethical considerations such as compassion and empathy. Retrieved 14 December The Times of India. Societies in the Islamic world have recognized "both erotic attraction and sexual behavior between members of the same sex". The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Love conquers hate. Archived from the original on 15 April Retrieved 6 June The Quran contains several allusions to homosexual activity , which has prompted considerable exegetical and legal commentaries over the centuries. Archived from the original on 5 March In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen ed. But Washington can exploit cases of IS hypocrisy on the issue in its countermessaging campaign. Archived from the original on 14 March Christian gays and lesbians have had to work hard for a measure of recognition among fellow-believers; their Muslim counterparts are just beginning that struggle.