What Does Islam Say About Homosexuality?

[bamalli]

What Does Islam Say About Homosexuality?
Taken from the book titled 'Common Questions People Ask About Islam'
by Shabir Ally

Islam teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and punishable by God.
This teaching comes not from human beings, but from the Creator of
all humans. God tells us in His own words how He punished the people
of Lot for their homosexual behaviour.

The story of prophet Lot, on whom be peace, finds mention in several
Qur'anic passages, especially Chapter 26:160-175 which reads:

"The people of Lut rejected the apostles. Behold, their brother Lut
said to them: "Will ye not fear (God)? "I am to you an apostle worthy
of all trust. "So fear God and obey me. "No reward do I ask of you
for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds. "Of all the
creatures in the world, will ye approach males, "And leave those whom
God has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people
transgressing (all limits)!" They said: "If thou desist not, O Lut!
thou wilt assuredly be cast out!" He said: "I do detest your
doings." "O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as
they do!" So We delivered him and his family,- all Except an old
woman who lingered behind. But the rest We destroyed utterly. We
rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower
on those who were admonished (but heeded not)! Verily in this is a
Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the
Exalted in Might Most Merciful."

From these passages we learn that God saved Lot and the righteous
ones of his family, and rained on the rest a shower of brimstone, so
they were utterly destroyed. This is mentioned in the Qur'an not only
for the sake of information, but mainly to serve as a warning to
anyone who dares to repeat such acts.

Muslim believe that every human action leads to consequences. Good
actions entail good results, and evil actions entail evil
consequences. Some of these consequences may not become known for
many years after a certain action. The consequences of some actions
will become manifest only after death when one enters a new,
everlasting life.... A common mistake among humans is that if they
don't see any negative consequences for their actions they consider
it harmless. Human experience has taught us that a source of superior
knowledge can be of tremendous benefit to humans.... God, the source
of all knowledge, warns us of His punishment if people perpetrate
homosexual acts. Let us pay attention and learn the easy way.

Some will say that a person may be born with homosexual tendencies.
We say that everyone is a free agent. God lays before us two paths
and has given us knowledge of where these paths lead. One is the path
to which the devil call us. We must avoid that. One is the path
leading to paradise. We must stick to that one. Everyone experiences
evil prompting from time to time. We must resist those with all our
might. If one feels a tendency to do something that God prohibits, he
or she should seek help from a community of loving, caring, believers
who would understand his or her difficulty and help him or her
overcome it.

A common ploy of the devil is to convince people that they cannot
avoid sin. Then they do not even try. But God promises that the devil
can have no lasting power over those who sincerely seek God (see
Qur'an 15:42)

Finally, our bodies are given to us in trust from God. One should not
use his or her body contrary to the user guide provided by its Maker.
Consenting adults also need God's consent.