Islam's view on
homosexuality:
Exposing the gross ignorance of Irshad Manji
By Nadir Ahmed
Posted: Monday, April 23, 2007, 1:37:00 AM
Irshad Manji stated in her book, The trouble with Islam:
The first question
is, "How do you reconcile homosexuality with Islam?"... pg. 23
I was plunged into
serious doubt of introspection, even flirting with the possibility of finally
giving up Islam for the sake of love. Hey, what better motive is there to
sacrifice anything? Pg. 24
After reading through Manji's rants, it finally
dawned on me. She has no clue what Islam teaches regarding homosexuality!
Perhaps if Irshad knew, she would take a different approach. Therefore, let me
school Irshad. Homosexuality is clearly identified as a sin in the Quran. But,
that does not mean that if a person is a practicing homosexual, he/she will
burn in hell eternally. Rather, all Muslims, including homosexuals, are
guaranteed heaven. But, as a result of our sins, we may, or may not, experience
a TEMPORARY punishment:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, "When the people of Paradise
will enter
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported: Verily the Messenger
of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah will admit into Paradise those
deserving of Paradise, and He will admit whom He wishes out of His Mercy, and
admit those condemned to Hell into the Fire (of Hell). He would then say:
See, he whom you find having as much faith in his heart as a grain of mustard,
bring him out. They will then be brought out burned and turned to charcoal,
and would be cast into the river of life, and they would sprout aj does a seed
in the silt carried away by flood. Have you not seen that it comes out yellow
(fresh) and intertwined?
Therefore, there is no such dilemma of “either Islam or homosexuality”,
because a person can be both homosexual and Muslim, and all homosexuals that
have faith will go to heaven, but they may or may not spend a temporary time in
hell. A person may also experience punishment in the grave, or they may even
experience punishment in this life, as a result of their sins. This is not just
a reality for homosexuals, but for all Muslims, including myself. It must also
be pointed out, that it is also possible for God to forgive a person of all
their sins and therefore not experience any punishment.
As Irshad Manji stated in her book:
I was plunged into
serious doubt of introspection, even flirting with the possibility of finally
giving up Islam for the sake of love. Hey, what better motive is there to sacrifice
anything? pg. 24
If this is the case, then continue with your homosexual lifestyle, but
also continue doing good deeds and repent to Allah:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Religion is very easy and
whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in
that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to
perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain
strength by worshipping in the mornings, the nights." (See Fath-ul-Bari,
Page 102, Vol 1).
And finally, Allah said in The Noble Quran:
Say: "O
'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil
deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh, verily Allâh forgives
all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Az-Zumar 39:53)
This verse shows Allah’s attribute that he is able to forgive all sins,
but again, it is not guaranteed. Although, we must never despair in Allah’s
mercy. But a word of caution, one of the prerequisites of receiving Allah’s
forgiveness is that we must hide our sins, and not flaunt them all over the
country and on our website. In addition to that, we should all try to hide our
brothers and sister’s sins and not make them public(*), and Allah knows best.
Read more on Islam’s view of homosexuality here.