Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asalaam u alaiykum,dear brother i am a 23 year old muslim born & bread in the u.k. i would like ot know if there u could help me,i am a homosexual i have been from a very young age,i was "once" very religious i tried everything in my capacity to stop this sin,& try to make myself a honest god fearing muslim,but to no avail could i come over my feelings for the same sex,i have tried to live a practiceing muslim life but no luck,please can you help me in whatever way you can,& what does our religion say bout homosexuality will i be forgiven as i fear god but can not help my self from commiting this grave sin,i also have stoped practiceing for over a year now please help !!! your brother 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Homosexual

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: what does our religion say bout homosexuality

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraf verses 80-82: And We sent Lot as a Messenger. And he said to his people, “Have you become so shameless that you commit such indecent acts as no one committed before you in the world? You gratify your lust with men instead of women. Indeed you are a people who are transgressors of all limits!” But the only answer his people gave was, “turn out these people from your habitations for they pose to be very pious.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 11 Surah Hud verses 82-83: Accordingly, when the time of the execution of Our Judgement came (for the people of Lot), We turned the habitation upside down and rained on it stones of baked clay, each of which had been specifically marked by your Lord. And such a scourge is not far from the tyrannous people!

Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden in Islam. It is an abomination and a grave sin in the eyes of Allah, and in Islam the doers of this sin are punishable by death!

This deed is deemed un-natural and against humanity and society in Islam. This deed is an evil and immoral deviation of man, and is not even found in the lower forms of animate life! Allah destroyed the whole habitation of Prophet Lot, and turned the whole city upside-down, and rained on them a rain of brim-stones for their sin of homosexuality. It was not that every individual in Sodom and Gomorrah who were destroyed committed sodomy; but even those who accepted it, propagated it, looked upto it as a norm and fashion, and allowed it without raising a voice against this abomination, were all destroyed by Allah Subhanah.

And Allah warns in the Holy Quran: ‘And such a scourge is not far from the tyrannous people!’ Thus if in the world today, this act of sodomy is propagated and accepted as normal and as fashionable, and society as a whole does not take steps to abolish this abomination, the scourge that came upon the people of Sodom and Gomorrah is not far!

We seek refuge in Allah from His Wrath and His Anger and His Punishment!

Beloved brother, the physical attraction of one towards the same sex is not natural, but rather an evil distortion one does to one’s own nature! Allah Subhanah has absolutely forbidden this distortion and deviation, and the doers of this evil deed would bring upon themselves the guaranteed Wrath and Anger of Allah Subhanah; unless they repent and do righteous deeds thereafter.

Q-2: will i be forgiven as i fear god but can not help my self from commiting this grave sin

Whatever deeds one might have done, if one turns to Allah Subhanah in sincere Taubah and seeks forgiveness, Allah Subhanah has promised in the Holy Quran that He will forgive all the sins of such a believer, even if one has committed the gravest sin of all: ‘Shirk’! Not only that, our Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only will forgive the sins of the believer, He will change his evil deeds done into good deeds!

The conditions or ways to seek sincere Taubah or Repentance from the Merciful Lord are:

One is aware that he has sinned, and feels sorry and ashamed at his sin.

Makes a solemn covenant and promise with Allah that he will not repeat his sin again.

Turns to Allah and seeks forgiveness, before he has met with his appointment of death.

Is a believer and does righteous good deeds thereafter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54: (O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54: When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Hadith Qudsi 34

Allah Subhanah, High and Exalted He is, says: ‘O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.’

Q-3: please can you help me in whatever way you can

My beloved and dear Brother in Islam, the only person who can help you is yourself! All we can do as your brothers in faith and as your sincere well-wishers is give you some good advice from the Quran and Sunnah and exhort you to fear Allah Subhanah and fear the Day when every person will be brought forth in the Majestic Lord’s Presence to give an accounting of his deeds.

Beloved brother, the first and foremost thing you should do is seek sincere repentance from your Lord, and make a solemn promise with Him that you will not commit the sin ever again. You must seriously contemplate changing the company you keep, and start associating with good righteous brothers who fear Allah, and keep themselves busy in enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

Beloved and dear Brother in Islam, whatever you do fear Allah and His Accounting on the Last Day, and stay constant in His Remembrance and His Obedience. And whenever the Shaytaan suggests or inspires you towards evil, immediately seek refuge in the Merciful Lord from the accursed Shaytaan, and be constant in your recitation of the 113^th and the 114^th Surahs (Surah Falaq and Surah Naas) of the Glorious Quran; it is expected that Allah will protect you from the whispering of the Shaytaan.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan