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:

Dear Brother Burhan Assalam o eleikum.

I am asking this question on behalf of a brother who wishes to remain anonymous.

This brother has engaged in homosexuality and incest in his younger days although in no case actual intercourse took place, but he went "quite far" in his words.

He is now totally reformed, is very steadfast in his prayers, fasting, zakat and has even performed the umrah in the month of Ramadan.

One of our common friends has told him that homosexuality is not pardoned even after performing Hajj. Naturally this friend is distraught as there is a chance that he might not get "maghfirat" and there is no hope for him in "aakhirat".

Could you first of all tell us if this claim of homosexuality being an unpardonable sin is true and secondly what more amal would you recommend for him, who sincerely seeks repentance.

My friend has requested that you don`t publish this question in the forum, only answer it personally, but I leave that to you, because there might be some other people who might learn from your guidance in this matter.

May Allah reward you for your good work. 

(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:

Can homosexual be forgiven?

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.

Whatever deeds one might have done, if one turns to Allah Subhanah in sincere Taubah, seeks forgiveness, and amends his conduct, 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 most grievous and heinous sin of all: ie. ‘Shirk’! Not only that, our Lord is so Merciful and Generous, that He not only will forgive the sins of the believer who seeks sincere repentance, in His Sublime and Infinite Mercy, He will change the 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 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136: Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verses 63-71: The (true) servants of the Merciful are those who walk humbly on the earth. When the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, they say, “Peace to you”; (And those) who pass their nights in prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord and pray, “O our Lord, save us from the torment of Hell, for its torment is killing! It is an evil abode, and an evil resting place”. (And those) who, when they spend are neither extravagant, nor miserly, but keep the golden mean between the two extremes. (And those) who do not invoke any god but Allah Alone, nor kill a soul unjustly, which Allah has forbidden, nor commit adultery… He who does this shall be punished for his sin, and his torment shall be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he shall abide in a state of ignominy; EXCEPT THE ONE WHO MAY HAVE REPENTED (AFTER THOSE SINS), AND HAVE BELIEVED AND DONE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS. For then, Allah will change his evil deeds into good deeds, and He is very Forgiving and Merciful. In fact, one who repents and does righteous deeds, returns to Allah as one rightly should!

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."

Your Statement: One of our common friends has told him that homosexuality is not pardoned even after performing Hajj. Naturally this friend is distraught as there is a chance that he might not get "maghfirat" and there is no hope for him in "aakhirat".

As grave and as abominable the sin of homosexuality is in the sight of the Lord, if one turns to Allah Subhanah seeking sincere repentance and forgiveness before one’s appointment of death and subsequently amends his conduct, it is expected that he will find his Lord Most Merciful, Most Forgiving. There is no sin a man commits which the Lord is not willing to forgive, provided one turns to Him in sincere repentance before one’s appointment of death! Thus regardless of what deeds one might have done in one’s past, one should never ever despair of the Mercy and Grace of the Lord Most Merciful.

Hadith Qudsi 34

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said that 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.’

The friend who declared that Allah never ever forgives the grave sin of homosexuality even if one seeks forgiveness is obviously mistaken and unaware of the vast and endless Mercy of the Lord Most Merciful. Never ever should a believer lose hope or despair of the Mercy of his Lord Most Merciful; for our Lord is willing to forgive any and all sins of His believing slaves, provided they turn to Him Alone in sincere repentance and subsequently amend their conduct.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.476 Narrated by Abu Huraira

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, ‘Verily Allah created Mercy. The day He created it (Mercy), He made it into one hundred parts. He withheld with Him ninety-nine parts, and sent its one part to all His creatures. Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise; and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire."

Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 6631 Narrated byAbuHurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘There are one hundred (parts of) Mercy for Allah and He has sent down out of these one part of Mercy upon the jinn and human beings and the insects, and it is because of this (one part) that they love one another, show kindness to one another and even the beast treats its young one with affection, and Allah has reserved ninety-nine parts of Mercy with which He would treat His servants on the Day of Resurrection.’

Your Question: Could you first of all tell us if this claim of homosexuality being an

unpardonable sin is true and secondly what more amal would you recommend for him, who sincerely seeks repentance.

As grave as the sin of homosexuality is in the sight of the Lord, it is not bigger than the most gravest, the most heinous, and the most abominable of all sins: ie. ‘shirk’ or the associating of other deities with the Lord All-Mighty! The sin of ‘shirk’ is so grave and so heinous that it is the only sin singled out by the Lord as being unforgivable for those who die in the state of ‘shirk’!!!

Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48: Shirk (associating other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this, for whosoever associates any other partner with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin.

But the Lord is so Merciful and so Gracious towards His creation, that even if one committed the abomination of shirk all his life, but turned to Allah Subhanah seeking sincere repentance before his appointment of death….the Lord would forgive his sin!

Thus, in conclusion, there is no sin which is unpardonable if one sincerely turns to his Lord before one’s appointment of death and seeks sincere forgiveness; it is expected that their Lord Most Merciful will forgive them their sins!

Your Question: secondly what more amal would you recommend for him, who sincerely seeks repentance.

For all the Mercy and Grace bestowed upon creation by the Lord Most Merciful, it would only be fitting that one constantly humble and submit himself to their Benevolent Creator; strive to do deeds that would earn them His Pleasure and His Good Will, and strive to abstain from all such deeds which bring about His Anger and His Wrath. There is no bigger and better ‘amal’ or deed one can do than to sincerely believe in Him and sincerely strive to obey and follow His Message and His Messenger (saws)! If one brings himself to do that, not only will he taste peace in the life of this transient world, he will tread the Straight Path that will bring him peace and success in the everlasting and eternal life of the Hereafter.

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