Islam and Homosexuality: What happened in Sodom and Gomorrah? The Prophet Lot (Lūt) and his Daughters: In the Bible and the Qur’an.

In the name of Allāh, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy

The Story of the Prophet Lūt (peace be upon him) known as Prophet Lot in the Bible

Al-Hāfidh Ibn Katheer and Imām As-Sa`dee mentioned that Lūt (‘alaihis-salām) was the nephew of Ibrāheem (‘alaihis-salām), the son of his brother, and his story follows on from the story of Ibrāheem. He was his student, and he learned from him, and he was like a son to him. So Loot was sent to the city of Sodom and Gomorra (Saddoom and ‘Amoorah) which was the main city of that region, situated to the south-east of the Dead Sea, approximately 100km from Jerusalem. It had outlying areas and villages. The Prophet Lūt (‘alaihis-salaam) is one of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah who was sent to a people with hard hearts and harsh natures – they gathered together deviation in belief and deviation in moral character. A deviation in morality that opposed the nature of humanity itself from the dawn of its creation till their time – something unheard of in the history of mankind. Men of the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah would perform sexual acts upon each other, acts of sodomy that go against human nature, and against the intellect, that oppose one’s moral instincts and Revelation from God. So the Prophet Lūt (‘alaihis-salām) was sent to them so that they may return to the worship of Allah and show obedience to Him, and abandon this unnatural and sinful deed. He strived against them and suffered at their hands until Allah sent to them a severe punishment.

This narration gives us an insight into the life of Loot and is an extension of what is mentioned in the Qur’an – and in this narration is a defence of this noble Prophet from the accusations levelled against him and false stories fabricated about the reality of the events at the time.

Al-Hākim reports in Al-Mustadrak (2/375) from Ibn ‘Abbās (radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) who said:

“When the Angel Messengers of Allah came to Lūt, he thought them to be guests with strength. So he invited them to come closer until he sat them close to him. Then he brought his three daughters and sat them between his guests and the people of his town. So the people rushed towards him in a state of hysteria. When Lūt saw them, he said:

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ ۖ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُخْزُونِ فِي ضَيْفِي ۖ أَلَيْسَ مِنكُمْ رَجُلٌ رَّشِيدٌ

“O my people! Here are my daughters, they are purer for you if you marry them lawfully. So fear Allah and degrade me not as regards my guests!” (Hood 11:78)

They responded:

قَالُوا لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ

“Surely you know that we have neither any desire nor any need of your daughters, and indeed you know very well what we want!” (Hood 11:79) So Lūt (‘alaihis-salām) said:

قَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِي بِكُمْ قُوَّةً أَوْ آوِي إِلَىٰ رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ

“Would that I had strength to overpower you, or that I could betake myself to some powerful support to resist you.” (Hood 11:80) Then Jibreel (`alaihis-salām) turned to him and said:

يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ ۖ

“O Lūt! Verily, we are the Messengers from your Lord! They shall not reach you!” (Hood 11:81)

So Jibreel took out their eyes, and they turned back feeling for each other until they exited to those who were at the gate. They said: We have come back to you from the ablest of magicians who has taken out our sights. So they returned feeling for each other until they entered the village. So the village was lifted up when a part of the night had passed until it was between the sky and the ground, such that the inhabitants could hear the sounds of the birds in the sky. Then it was turned upside down and stones were rained down upon them, and whoever was pelted by the stones was killed, and whoever fled the township, the stones would follow and kill him.

So Lūt left out with his daughters, three of them, until they reached a place in Shām (Syria) where his eldest daughter died, and there came out of that place a spring called Al-Wariyyah. They continued upon the journey as Allah had willed, then the youngest of his daughters died, and there came out of that place a spring called Ar-Ra’ziyyah. So there remained none of his daughters, except one.”

This narration was reported by Al-Hākim 2/375 in Al-Mustadrak, The Book of Tasfeer, Tafseer of Soorah Hood. He said, “This hadeeth is authentic upon the conditions of the two shaikhs (Bukhāree and Muslim), but neither of them reported it.” Adh-Dhahabee agreed upon its authenticity. Al-Hākim also said: “A person may wrongly assume that this statement and what is similar to it, is from the ‘mawqoofāt’ (sayings of the Companions), but that is not the case. If a Companions explains verses, then that is ascribed to the Prophet (salallāhu alaihi wasallam) in the view of the two shaikhs (i.e. Bukhāree and Muslim).”

This hadeeth affirms what is stated in the Qur’an regarding what occurred with Lūt (‘alaihis-salām). The Angels came to him in the form of youth with handsome faces. Lūt hosted them but he feared for them that his people may become obscene with them. He thought that these were handsome guests who had come to this township, unaware of its reality – they were unknown to the people and did not have their wicked habits and were not corrupt.

So when these guests entered the house of Lūt, all the people came and gathered at one time at the house of Lūt intending to violate the guests and to entice them into obscene acts. So the Prophet (‘alaihis-salām) brought forth his chaste and pious daughters and placed them between his guests and the people of the town and said to them: “Here are my daughters, they are purer for you if you marry them lawfully.” They rejected them and persisted in seeking the company of the guests in their attempts to commit lewd and immoral acts with them. So the Prophet Lūt was constricted and felt the impending harm and he feared for the welfare of his guests. He wished he had the power and strength that would aid him against his people. Upon that Jibreel informed him of the reality of their purpose, that they were Messengers of Allah – and these foolish and lowly people had no ability to harm them or to reach them. So Jibreel struck them with his wing and he took out their eyes. So they fled in terror. Ibn Katheer said that the mufassiroon (Quranic scholars) have explained that the Angels who came to Loot were Jibreel, Mikā’eel and Isrāfeel. They had left Loot’s uncle, the Prophet Ibraheem (‘alaihis-salām), and went on to Sodom (Arabic: Saddoom) in the form of handsome youths, so Allah may put the people to test and establish the proof upon them before their punishment. They reached Lūt when it was the time for sunset. Lūt feared that if he did not host them, others would. He did not know they were Angels so he treated them as humans. Ibn Abbās and Mujāhid said: “It was a great test for Lūt because he knew it would be hard to protect them, especially at night – and his people had already told him not to host anybody in his house.” Qatādah said: “When the Angels arrived he was working on his land. They asked him to host them and felt ashamed to refuse their request. He walked in front of them to his house and tried to hint to them that they should not come to this town and go to another instead. He even said to them: ‘By Allah! I have never known a people on earth more wicked than those of this town.’ He repeated it four times. The angels were instructed not to destroy them until their Prophet witnessed against them.”

Suddee said that when they reached the river of Sodom, they met the daughters of Lūt and they asked them if there was any shelter. They told them to wait there and then rushed to their father to tell him that there were handsome men at the gate of the town and to do whatever he could to protect them from the harm of the people of the town.

Ibn Katheer said that it was the wife of Lūt who rushed off to the people of the town and informed them of the arrival of some handsome youths, with looks she had never seen before.  She was in alliance with the sinners. Upon that the people came rushing:

وَجَاءَهُ قَوْمُهُ يُهْرَعُونَ إِلَيْهِ وَمِن قَبْلُ كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ بَنَاتِي هُنَّ أَطْهَرُ لَكُمْ ۖ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ

“And his people came rushing towards him, and since before that they used to commit crimes [of homosexuality]” (Hood 11:78)

In Genesis 19:8, it states that Lot offered his daughters to the townsmen: “Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them…” Ibn Katheer states that this is a blunder and clear error and a grievous mistake to say that he offered his two daughters to “do what you like with them” without even the notion of marriage or piety. This is an example of the latter-day biblical distortions.

So, they were so deeply indulged in their lusts of desiring men that when their Prophet guided them to the correct way of satisfying their sexual desires through marriage with his daughters and the daughters of the town, they replied:

قَالُوا لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا لَنَا فِي بَنَاتِكَ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَعْلَمُ مَا نُرِيدُ

“You know that we no desire for your daughters – you know very well what we desire.” (Hood 11:79)

Imam as-Sa’dee brings another perspective saying that Lūt (‘alaihis-salām) knew they would refuse his daughters outright, just as the Prophet-King Sulaymān did with the two women who claimed the possession of the same baby. He said, bring me a knife and I shall cut him into two so you can take a portion each, knowing full well that it would not be done, and they would not agree to that. So this is similar to that. That is because a Prophet of Allah would not allow the marriage of his daughters except to believing men who worshipped Allah alone and were righteous.

The Prophet (salallāhu alaihi wasallam) said: “May Allah bestow His Mercy on Lūt. When his nation troubled him he wished if he could betake himself to some powerful support…” (Bukhāree, 216) The Angels were sent to aid him, and they commanded him to leave the town with his family saying, “Morning is the time [appointed for their destruction] and is not the morning very close?” (Hood 11:81) – i.e. You must leave O Lūt with your family.

Allah said regarding the rescuing of Loot:

قَالُوا يَا لُوطُ إِنَّا رُسُلُ رَبِّكَ لَن يَصِلُوا إِلَيْكَ ۖ فَأَسْرِ بِأَهْلِكَ بِقِطْعٍ مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ وَلَا يَلْتَفِتْ مِنكُمْ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَكَ ۖ إِنَّهُ مُصِيبُهَا مَا أَصَابَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ مَوْعِدَهُمُ الصُّبْحُ ۚ أَلَيْسَ الصُّبْحُ بِقَرِيبٍ

“The Angels said: ‘O Lūt! Verily, we are the Messengers from your Lord! They shall not reach you! So travel with your family in a part of the night, and let not any of you look back, but your wife (will remain behind), verily, the punishment which will afflict them, will afflict her. Indeed, morning is their appointed time. And is not the morning near?'” (Hood 11:81) When Lūt left, he took his daughters and no one else followed him. It is said (by some) that his wife was with him. And when the punishment of Allah approached them, it was never going to be averted. It is said that the wife of Lūt stayed behind with her people, others said she went with her husband and daughters but when she heard the sound of the blast and the towns smashing back into the earth from the sky, she turned back to her people in longing and said, “O my people!” And then a brimstone fell upon her and she was broken into pieces. She was upon the religion of her people, and she was a spy for them, informing them of the guests who came to Lūt.

فَلَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا جَعَلْنَا عَالِيَهَا سَافِلَهَا وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا حِجَارَةً مِّن سِجِّيلٍ مَّنضُودٍ

مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ ۖ وَمَا هِيَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ بِبَعِيدٍ

“So when Our Commandment came, We turned (the towns of Sodom in Palestine) upside down, and rained on them stones of baked clay, piled up. [Each stone] marked from your Lord, and they are not ever far from the wrongdoers.” (Hood 11:82-83) Ibn Katheer said: It is said that Jibreel uprooted those townships from the earth and those around it – and they were in total seven towns – with its inhabitants and animals. He lifted them up to the sky and then threw them back, upside down.

So what is apparent is that Jibreel lifted up that land in the last part of the night: the townships, the land itself, the animals, the crops and plants, until the sounds of birds could be heard in the sky – then that whole land was turned upside down whilst in the sky, such that its highest part became its lowest, then that was followed by the pelting of stones of baked clay, piled up, layer-upon-layer. Ibn Katheer stated that musawwamatan in the verse indicates that every stone was denoted and targeted at a specific person to destroy him, such that no one escaped.

However, the mercy of Allah protected the believers. Ibn Katheer said that it was stated by Sa’eed Ibn Jubair, Suddee, Ibn Ishaq and Qatādah that Ibrāheem (‘alaihis-salām) said to the Angels who were sent to destroy the transgressing people of Lot: “Will you destroy a town where there are 300 believers?” They said: “No.” He said: “If there were 200 believers?” They said: “No.” He said: “If there were 40 believers?” They said: “No.” He said: “If there were 14 believers?” They said: “No.” It continued until he said: “What if there was only one believer?” They said: “No.” So “He said: ‘But Lot is there! They said: ‘We are well aware of who is there.'” Referring here to the verse:

قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لُوطًا ۚ قَالُوا نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن فِيهَا ۖ لَنُنَجِّيَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ إِلَّا امْرَأَتَهُ كَانَتْ مِنَ الْغَابِرِينَ

“Abraham said, “Indeed, within it is Lot.” They said, “We are more knowing of who is within it. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife. She is to be of those who remain behind.” (Al-Ankaboot 29:32)

So all of this is present in the Qur’an, Hadeeth and narrations of the Salaf. What is a  point of special note from the hadeeth of Al-Hākim is that those who were saved from the punishment included his three daughters. So he left out with them to the land of Shām. The elder daughter died on the journey and Allah brought out at that place a spring of water called Al-Wariyyah. Then he moved out once more upon the journey, far from the land of those punished. Then his youngest daughter passed away (rahimahallāh), so Allah brought out from the place where she died another spring called Ar-Ra’ziyyah. Then there remained no one with him except the second (middle) daughter.

Contrast with the Biblical account found in the Torah

Though there are some similarities between the accounts found in the Torah with that which is found in Qur’an and Prophetic Tradition, Muslims affirm that which is found in the Qur’an and Prophetic Tradition without reservation – and that which is found in the Biblical account which contradicts the Quranic Revelation, then it is considered false and unfounded — and is a latter-day distortion of the Torah by the Jews and Christians. Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ʿalaihi wasallam) stated:

بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً، وَحَدِّثُوا عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلاَ حَرَجَ، وَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَىَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ

“Convey from me, even it is a single verse and narrate from the People of the Book and there is no harm. And whoever lies upon me deliberately, then let him take his seat in Hellfire.” (Bukhāree, 3461)

From the distortions of the Torah is their claim that the Angels who, on their way to Lūt, passed by Ibrāheem, ate from the food that was served by Ibrāheem (‘alaihis-salām). Genesis (18:7-8) states: “Then he (Abraham) ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.” Additionally, Genesis 19:3 states that they ate also with the Prophet Lot: “But he (Lot) insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.” The Qur’an opposes and falsifies this claim in Soorah Hood (11:69-71):

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُنَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ بِالْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا سَلَامًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَامٌ ۖ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَن جَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ

فَلَمَّا رَأَىٰ أَيْدِيَهُمْ لَا تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۚ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِ لُوطٍ

وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِن وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ

“And certainly did Our messengers come to Abraham with good tidings; they said, “Peace (salām).” He said, “Peace,” and did not delay in bringing them a roasted calf. But when he saw their hands not reaching for it, he distrusted them and felt from them apprehension. They said, “Fear not. We have been sent to the people of Lot.” And his wife was standing, and she laughed. Then we gave her good tidings of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob.”

When they did not eat, Ibrāheem felt apprehensive because when guests refuse what is offered, then usually that is a sign of their displeasure and possible evil intent. So to allay that, they made clear why they will not eat – because they are the Angels of Allah sent to the people of Lūt, and it is not from the nature of Angels to eat or drink.

Another point where the Qur’an corrects a latter-day distortion of the Torah is in the number of the Angels. The Torah asserts in Genesis (19:1): “The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city.” However, the Quranic texts and Hadeeth tradition make clear that there were more than just two Angels.

Accusations of Incest and Drunkenness against Lot in the Bible

However, the worst of the distortions of the Biblical texts that were introduced by those with a sickness in their hearts is what they fabricated against this noble Prophet who spent his life worshipping Allah alone without associating partners in worship with Him and calling the people to that; in the enjoinment of good and the forbidding of evil, who waged war against immoral and lewd acts, and gave all his years in obedience to Allah — a man who raised his daughters with honour, dignity, the best of morals, chastity and piety. And Allah saved them from the punishment He inflicted upon the people of Sodom. Yet the Torah was distorted by the hands of wicked men, and they inserted the claim that after Lot left his township his daughters plied him with wine until he was drunk, and then committed fornication with him in a cave, close to the city of Zoar which was not far from Sodom. Both became pregnant with his children. Genesis 19:30-38 states:

“30. Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

31. One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.

32. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

33. That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34. The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.”

35. So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36. So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today.

38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.”

How quick they are in ascribing wicked deeds to this noble Prophet and his daughters. An ascription that is impossible for a man of piety who has chaste daughters, let alone for a noble Prophet sent by the Lord of the worlds!

The Messengers of God are completely innocent and protected from ever falling into fornication and infidelity. Lot had fought all his life against such wickedness and raised his daughters upon piety, such that Allah saved them all from the destruction that He inflicted upon the people of disbelief and homosexuality. After knowing that, a pure heart would never accept such an evil accusation against this noble Prophet and his pious daughters. Compare this distortion to the words of the Quran and the Hadeeth regarding Lūt and his daughters; no sincere heart would believe the fabrications introduced into the Biblical records. This one story alone should be sufficient for any fair-minded Jew or Christian to abandon the falsehoods contained within their scriptures and submit to the justice and beauty of the Qur’an that was revealed to the final Prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Furthermore, the Bible asserts that Lot had two daughters which is another proof of their later tampering with the texts. The Prophetic texts prove that he had three daughters; and Lot did not settle in a mountain cave near Zoar (Arabic: Sau’ar), rather he made his way to the lands of Shām. Two of his daughters died during his lifetime on this journey, and one survived. And all praise is due to Allah who purified this noble family from the false accusations of those who played with the words revealed to Moosā (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Torah, and to the other Prophets, in order to misguide the people to attain a temporary worldly gain.

Genesis and its Narrative on Homosexuality 

There are of course many similarities also in the story of Lūt between the texts, not least is the agreement of the People of the Book (Ahlul-Kitāb) regarding the religious abhorrence of homosexuality. The Bible states in Genesis 19:

“4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house.

5. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him

7. and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing…

8. …don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

9. “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.

10. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.

11. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

24. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.

25. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.”

Homosexuality: Is it Nurture or Nature? Can it ever be Good to be a Homosexual?

So in the affair of the rulings of homosexuality, the People of the Book are agreed: the Jews, Christians and Muslims – at least from a textual point of view. However, there have appeared in the modern era ‘liberal thinkers’ who ascribe themselves to the scriptures and seek to impose upon the religious texts their own distorted views in an attempt to provide “alternative facts” which in reality amount to nothing short of contradiction and opposition of the religious texts that are found in the Torah, the Gospels and the Qur’an. These people claim that homosexuality is normal and natural within humans, and even sanctioned by God. In reality, homosexual practices oppose the innate nature (fitrah) of human beings which seeks the opposite sex for intimacy and procreation. Homosexuality opposes sound intellect because a reasonable-minded person will come to the conclusion that the rectum/anus of a man is not the place where the seeds of reproduction are to be sown. The rectum was not made for that purpose as it brings about no benefit. Rather, entering into that place only brings about harm, infectious disease, rectal, anal and bowel dysfunction as is recorded in the scientific literature.

When a man has sexual relations with one’s wife, it has positive outcomes and effects – it leads to good health without harmful side-effects, and results in the birth of children due to the fact that the womb of the woman is the place for the seed of the man. This, in turn, brings about a society that functions as it should. Homosexuality opposes all the revealed texts that clearly state that it is unnatural, sinful, devoid of benefit, and destructive, and it earns the anger of the Lord of the worlds both in this life and Hereafter. Even atheists and Darwinists must concede that sex between men is unnatural and irrational and goes against the natural order and the forces of nature, because if homosexuality is seen as normal within humans then the end result would be the extinction of the species. After all, how many generations would a community consisting of purely homosexual males survive? The answer is “None” since reproduction of the species can never take place in a single-gender.

A man can have sexual relations with his wife for many decades without any damage to her womb – indeed it is proven through research that sexual relations between a man and his wife are good for health, body and mind, whereas anal sex destroys and damages rectal tissue and bowel function. There are huge amounts of research which proves the increased risks to the health and wellbeing of those who engage in homosexual activities.

Most men who engage in homosexual activity (initially at least) feel a strong sense of guilt and sinfulness (in their hearts) because they sense the inherent wrong in this act – these men know it is unnatural and angers God, so they suffer from depression, mental anguish and grief. Furthermore, suicide rates among homosexuals and transgender people are far higher than any other part of society. For this reason, many scientists see their behaviour as a mental and psychological illness that can be remedied over time. People who travel to Europe (and the West in general) from war-torn countries, after losing their entire families (to mindless killing) and witness the destruction of their homes, and then they face alienation, racism, poverty, verbal and physical abuse in Europe still have far, far fewer incidents of suicide than homosexuals and transgender people living in Europe, Canada and the US. Ask yourselves why?

Most people recognise that homosexuality is environmental, something learned, maybe even fashionable or adopted a result of traumatic sexual abuse experienced as children, and not a result being “born gay”. So the fact is that homosexuality can be unlearned just as it was once learned through reasoned discussion, studying the Word of God and debate.

Both the Old and New Testaments Condemn Homosexuality

Both the Old and New Testaments speak of the sinful nature of homosexuality, and the biblical punishment is so severe that it leaves little or no room for anyone to claim that God allows such relationships.

Leviticus (Old Testament) 20:13 states:

“If a man has sexual relations with a man as he does with a woman, both men have committed an abomination. They are to be put to death and their blood is upon them.”

Romans 1:27 (New Testament) states:

“Likewise, the men abandoned relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty of their error.”

Deuteronomy 23:17 (Old Testament):

“There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.”

Paul wrote in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 6:

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? So do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor the idolators, nor the adulterer, nor the men who have sex with men.”

According to Paul, and in line with scripture, these categories of wrongdoers shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Likewise, 1 Timothy 1:10 in the New Testament condemns homosexuality, whereas Jude 1:7 in the New Testament uses the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as a reason for condemnation:

“In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, they serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

So what was the unnatural desire pursued by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah that led to the punishment of God upon them? It was homosexuality.

Starting Point of Da’wah for Muslims

The Qur’an and Prophetic Tradition is no different in regarding the deeds of homosexuality to be forbidden, unnatural and sinful. However, Muslims should not forget that the first affair that they call all people to is: the worship of the One God, the Lord of all creation, and He is Allah – and to abandon the worship of all other beings and objects that are taken as gods besides Him. This is the point at which all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah began their call. Homosexuality is a sin no doubt, and it is from the major sins, but once a person realises that God Almighty is the One worthy of worship and servitude, he will come to realise that Allah knows what is best for His creation, and through that a person will do that which His Lord has commanded and abandon that which He has forbidden from sins and indecent acts.