AlIslamGroup Fatwa on Homosexuality and Lesbianism

DeathfallasPunishmentforHomosexuality
Respected scholars of Islam, AsSalamu `Alaykum wa Rahamtu Allah wa Barakatuh. I have read in a newspaper that anIranianman who was convictedof rapingandkillinghis16yearold nephewistobeexecuted bybeingthrown off a cliff in sack; and if the man survives the fall down a rocky precipice, he will be hanged. What is your comment on thisissue? Wa`alykumAsSalaamWarahmatullahiWabarakatuh. IntheNameofAllah,MostGracious,MostMerciful. AllpraiseandthanksareduetoAllah,andpeaceandblessingsbeuponHisMessenger. DearbrotherinIslam,wedoreallyappreciateyourquestion,whichshowshowfaryouareinterestedingettingyourself wellaquatintedwithIslamanditsteachings.MayAllahblessyoureffortsinthepursuitofknowledge! Firstofall,itshouldbeclearthatthismancommittedtwoheinouscrimes:1)homosexuality,and2)murder.Eachcrime is sufficient to warrant death penalty. In addition, this man has severed ties of kinship by seducing and killing his nephew. The Glorious Quran is explicit in deciding the Hadd (legal penalty) for the crime of murder, when saying: O ye who believe!Thelawofequalityisprescribedtoyouincasesofmurder:(AlBaqarah:178) Homosexuality, moreover, is an abomination and a grave sin. In Hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, clarifies the gravity of this abomination by saying: Allah curses the one who does the actions (homosexual practices) of the people of Lut repeating it three times; and he said in another Hadith: If a man comes upon a man then they are both adulterers. Here, he considered homosexuality tantamount to adultery in relation to the Shariah punishments becauseitisanabominationontheonehandandthedefinitionofadulteryappliestoitontheotherhand. However, death fall is not the sole penalty agreed upon by the Muslim Jurists as a punishment for this crime. The punishmenthereiscontroversialduetodivergenceofviewsamong`Ulamaindeductingrulingasregardsthiscasefrom Shari`ahsources. Focusingmoreonthequestioninpoint,theeminentMuslimscholar,Sheikh`AbdelKhaliqHasanAshShareef,states: As regards this case (if genuine), this man committed two heinous crimes, which deserve severe punishment. He is a murdererandhomosexual.Besides,heseveredtiesofkinshipbydoingsuchgravesins. Death penalty (Qisas) is well established by the Quran in more than one verse. Allah, Most High, says: O ye who believe!thelawofequalityisprescribedtoyouincasesofmurder:(AlBaqarah:178) As to the issue of how the homosexual person is judged in an Islamic State, the Companions of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him differed among themselves on this issue, and this led to different views maintained by Muslim Jurists. For example, in the Hanafi school of thought, the homosexual is punished through harsh beating, and if he/she repeats the act, death penalty is to be applied. As for the Shafi`i school of thought, the homosexual receives the 1|P a g e PleasevisitFREEelibraries:

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AlIslamGroup Fatwa on Homosexuality and Lesbianism

same punishment of adultery (if he/she is married) or fornication (if not married). This means, that if the homosexual is married, he/she is stoned to death, while if single, he/she is whipped 100 times. Hence, the Shafi`i compares the punishment applied in the case of homosexuality with that of adultery and fornication, while the Hanafi differentiates between the two acts because in homosexuality, the anus (a place of impurity) may also be involved while in adultery (and fornication), the penis/vagina (which are reproductive parts) are involved. Some scholars hold the opinion that the homosexual should be thrown from a high building as a punishment for his crime, but other scholars maintain that he shouldbeimprisoneduntildeath. Based on the above fact, we can conclude that, the judge is invested with full discretion as to whether this man is to be thrown from a high place or not, as a punishment for his crime. However, if the man survives death fall, the judge has therighttosentencehimtodeath. Shedding more light on the legal penalty for homosexuality, Dr. Taha Jaber Al`Alwani, President of the Graduate SchoolofIslamicandSocialSciencesandPresidentoftheFiqhCouncil,states: The scholars of this Ummah are in agreement based on what has been revealed in the Quran and what has been authenticated in the Prophetic Tradition (Sunnah) on prohibiting both behaviors (gayness and lesbianism) because in each of two actions there is an assault on the humanity of a person, destruction of the family and a clash with aims of the Lawgiver, one of which is the establishment of sexual instincts between males and females so as to encourage the institutionofmarriage. Islam does not view sexual desire as the main aim of marriage; for marriage is a means to acquire tranquility and to actualizetheloveandmercybetweenspouses.Furthermore,itisameansforthesurvivalofhumankindandfosteringa web of sound relations that aid in building sound families that constitute the smallest units for the society at large; this healthysocietybeingthefinalaimofIslam. Actually,humansarenotanimalscontrolledbytheirsexualinstincts,answeringthecallofsexualdesireseverytimeitis aroused in them. Rather, it is their responsibility to know how they can orient this craving, which is a trust Allah has implementedinthem,bothmaleandfemale,inadditiontothewillandpowertochoose,ablessingAllahhasbestowed on humans; all this is what distinguishes them from the rest of the creatures in that they orient their conduct and do whatisgood. So, viewing (material) desires as aims in themselves is a deviation from ones natural disposition and a departure from the natural order. If the trend in the West is to legalize this conduct, it should be noted that such things did not materializeuntilafterreligiousvalueshadbeendilutedandhadbeenchangedtorelativevaluesthatglorifyindividuality andmakepleasuresasanendandaim. InHadith,theProphet,peaceandblessingsbeuponhim,clarifiesthegravityofthisabominationbysaying:Allahcurses the one who does the actions of the people of Lut repeating it three times; and he said in another Hadith: If a man comes upon a man then they are both adulterers. Here, he considered homosexuality tantamount to adultery in relationtotheShariahpunishmentsbecauseitisanabominationontheonehandandthedefinitionofadulteryapplies toitontheotherhand.IthasalsobeennarratedfromtheCompanions(mayAllahbepleasedwiththem)thatthiscrime deserves severe punishment more than that of adultery to insure its deterrence and restraint. Verily, the punishment here is the burning of both homosexuals (the actor and acted upon) or stoning them with rocks till death because Allah MostHighstonedthepeopleofLutafterdemolishingtheirvillage. 2|P a g e PleasevisitFREEelibraries:

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AlIslamGroup Fatwa on Homosexuality and Lesbianism

Asforlesbians,theProphet,peaceandblessingsbeuponhim,saidaboutthem:"Ifawomancomesuponawoman,they are both Adulteresses. The scholars mentioned that it is incumbent on the authority to enact a reprimand on lesbians thatisfittingtothecrimecommitted. Itistruethatsomeofthescholarsdisagreedwiththesepunishmentsnotbecauseofdoubtthattheseactionsconstitute a crime, but because of a lack of divine textual stipulation for a worldly punishment. But the actions of the Prophets Companions do indicate that in fact this crime has a worldly punishment, to be carried out by those in authority among the Muslims. The story of Abu Bakr AlSiddiq when Khalid Ibn AlWaleed wrote to him on this matter is famous and can bereferencedinmanysources. [Thestoryreferredtoabovegoesasfollows: "InhisbookFathalQadir,thefamousHanafischolar,IbnalHumamstates: AlBayhaqi reported in his book Shu`ab alIman on the authority of Abu adDunya that Abd al`Aziz ibn Abi Hazim relatedfromDawudibnBakrwhorelatedfromMuhammadibnalMukadirthefollowing: Khalid Ibn alWalid wrote to Abu Bakr [seeking the legal ruling] concerning a man with whom another man had sexual intercourse. Thereupon, Abu Bakr gathered the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and sought their opinion. `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was the strictest of all, saying, 'Only one nation disobeyed Allah by committing such sin and you know how Allah dealt with them. I see that we should burn the man with fire. The Companions unanimously agreed on this. This incident is also mentioned by alWaqidi under the subjectofapostasyattheendofthesectionontheapostasyofBaniSalim.]

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