ENGLISH
COMPOSTION
The Major Sin Of An Adulterer and Homosexual / Lesbian
Firstly the crime of homosexuality is one of the greatest of crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds, and Allah Taala punished those who did it in a way that He did not punish other nations. It is indicative of violation of the fitrah, total misguidance, weak intellect and lack of religious commitment, and it is a sign of doom and deprivation of the mercy of Allah. We ask Allah Taala to keep us safe and sound.
Al-Tirmidhi (1456), Abu Dawood (4462)and Ibn Maajah (2561) narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Luth, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”. Classed as sahih by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Ahmad (2915) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “May Allah curse the one who does the action of the people of Luth, may Allah curse the one who does the action of the people of Luth,” three times. This was classed as hasan by Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad.
The ‘Sahabat’ were unanimously agreed on the execution of homosexuals but they differed as to how they were to be executed. Some of them were of the view that they should be burned with fire, which was the view of Sayidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and also of Sayidina Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) as we shall see below. And some of them thought that they should be thrown down from a high place then have stones thrown at them. This was the view of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him).
Some of them thought that they should be stoned to death which was narrated from both Sayidina Ali and Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with them).
After the Sahabat, the fuqaha’ differed concerning the matter. Some of them said that the homosexual should be executed no matter what his situation, whether he is married or not.
Some of them said that he should be punished in the same way as an adulterer, so he should be stoned if he is married and flogged if he is not married. Some of them said that a severe punishment should be carried out on him, as the judge sees fit.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah be pleased with him) discussed this issue at length, and he mentioned the evidence and arguments of the fuqaha’, but he supported the first view. This is explained in his book al-Jawaab al-Kaafi’ li man sa’ala ‘an al-Dawa’ al-Shaafi, which he wrote to deal with this immoral action. We will quote some of what he said:
Because the evil consequences of homosexuality are among the worst of evil consequences, so its punishment is one of the most severe of punishments in this world and in the Hereafter.
The scholars differed as to whether it is to be punished more severely than adulterer (zina), or whether the punishment for adulterer (zina) should be more severe, or whether the punishments should be the same. There are three points of view:
Firstly, Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Abbaas, Maalik, Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, Imam Ahmad according to the more sound of the two reports from him and Al-Shafi’e according to one of his opinions, were of the view that the punishment for homosexuality should be more severe than the punishment for adulterer (zina) and the punishment is execution in all cases, whether the person is married or not.
Secondly, Al-Shafi’e, according to the well-known view of his mazhab, and Imam Ahmad according to the other report narrated from him, were of the view that the punishment for the homosexual should be the same as the punishment for the adulterer.
Lastly, Imam Abu Hanifah was of the view that the punishment for the homosexual should be less severe than the punishment for the adulterer and it is a punishment to be determined by the judge (ta’zeer).
Those who favoured the first view, who are the majority of the ummah – and more than one scholar narrated that there was consensus among the Sahabat on this point – said that there is no sin that brings worse consequences than homosexuality, and they are second only to the evil consequences of kufur, and they may be worse than the consequences of murder, as we shall see below.
They said: Allah did not test anyone with this major sin before the people of Luth, and He punished them with a punishment that He did not send upon any other nation. He combined all kinds of punishment for them, such as destruction, turning their houses upside down, causing them to be swallowed up by the earth, sending stones down upon them from the sky, taking away their sight, punishing them and making their punishment ongoing, and wreaking vengeance upon them such as was not wrought upon any other nation. That was because of the greatness of the evil consequences of this crime which the earth can hardly bear if it is committed upon it, and the angels flee to the farthest reaches of heaven and earth if they witness it, lest the punishment be sent upon those who do it and they be stricken along with them. The earth cries out to its Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, and the mountains almost shift from their places.
Killing the one to whom it is done is better for him than committing this act with him, because if a man commits sodomy with another man, in effect he kills him in such a way that there is no hope of life after that, unlike murder where the victim is wronged and is a martyr. They said: the evidence for that (example : that the evil consequences of homosexuality are worse than those of murder) is the fact that in the case of murder.
Allah gives the next of kin the choice: if he wishes he may have him executed and if he wishes he may let him off but He enjoined executing the homosexual as a had punishment, as the companions of the Messenger of Allah were unanimously agreed, and as is clearly indicated by the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and there is no evidence to the contrary; rather this is what his companions and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them all) did.
It is narrated from Khalid ibn al-Walid that he found a man among one of the Arab tribes with whom men would have intercourse as with a woman. He wrote to Sayidina Abu Bakr al-Siddeq (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayidina Abu Bakr al-Siddeq consulted the Sahabat (may Allah be pleased with them). Sayidina Ali ibn Abi Talib had the strongest opinion of all of them, and he said: “No one did that but one of the nations and you know what Allah did to them. I think that he should be burned with fire.” So Sayidina Abu Bakr wrote to Khaalid and he had him burned.
Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas said: The highest point in the town should be found and the homosexual should be thrown head first from it, then stones should be thrown at him. Ibn ‘Abbaas derived this had punishment from the punishment that Allah sent upon the homosexuals of the people of Luth. Ibn ‘Abbaas is the one who narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the words: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Luth, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.” This was narrated by the authors of al-Sunan and was classed as sahih by Ibn Hibbaan and others. Imam Ahmad quoted this hadith as evidence, and its isnad meets the conditions of al-Bukhaari.
They said: and it is narrated that he said: “May Allah curse the one who does the action of the people of Luth, may Allah curse the one who does the action of the people of Luth, may Allah curse the one who does the action of the people of Luth,” and it is not narrated that he cursed the adulterer three times in one hadith. He cursed those who do a variety of major sins, but he did not curse any of them more than once, but he repeated the curse for the homosexual three times. The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) agreed unanimously that the homosexual is to be executed, and none of them differed concerning that. Rather they differed as to the method of execution. Some people thought that this difference means that they disagreed about executing him, so they narrated it as a matter concerning which the Sahabat differed, but it is a matter concerning which there was consensus among them, not a matter of difference.
And they said: Whoever ponders the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning) :
“And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Faahishah (i.e. anything that transgresses its limits: a great sin), and an evil way (that leads one to hell unless Allah Forgives him)”
[Surah Al-Isra’ Juz : 17, Page : 32]
and what He says about homosexuality (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) Luth (Lot), when he said to his people: Do you commit the worst sin such as none preceding you has committed in the ‘Alamin (mankind and jin)?”
[Surah al-A’raaf, Juz : 7, Page : 80]
Thats the difference between them. When Allah mentioned adulterer (zina), He described it as a “great sin” (fahishah – indefinite) among other great sins, but when He mentioned homosexuality, He called it “the worst sin” (al-fahishah – definite). This suggests that it contains all the essence of evil and sin.
End quote from al-Jawaab al-Kaafi (p. 260-263).
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to homosexuality, some of the scholars said that the had punishment for it is the same as the had punishment for zina, and it was said that it is less than that. But the correct view on which the Sahabat were unanimously agreed is that both are to be killed, the active and the passive partners, whether they are married or not. The authors of al-Sunan narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Luth, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”
And Abu Daud narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas concerning the unmarried person who commits a homosexual act that he said: He is to be stoned. And something similar was narrated from Sayidina Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). The Sahabat did not differ concerning the ruling that the homosexual is to be executed, but they differed concerning the methods. It was narrated from Sayidina Abu Bakr al-Siddeq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he is to be burned, and from others that he is to be executed. It was narrated from some of them that a wall is to be knocked down on top of him until he dies beneath it. And it is said that both should be detained in the foulest of places until they die.
It was narrated from some of them that he should be taken up to the highest place in the town and thrown down from it, to be followed with stones, as Allah did to the people of Luth. This was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas. According to the other report, he is to be stoned. This was the view of the majority of the salaf. They said: because Allah stoned the people of Luth, and stoning is prescribed for the zaani by analogy with the stoning of the homosexual. Both are to be stoned, whether they are free or slaves, or one of them is the slave of the other, if they have reached the age of puberty. If one of them has not reached the age of puberty, he is to be punished but not stoned, and none is to be stoned except one who has reached puberty. End quote from al-Siyaasah al-Shar’iyyah, p. 138.
An already-married who committed adultery should be stoned until dead, as the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- had stoned Ma’iz Ibn Malik Al Aslam, also he had stoned al Ghamidiya woman, two Jews, and others of them, and as muslims did, where they also practiced stoning after the death of the Prophet. The scholars have different stance, is the stoned one should be whipped 100 times before got stoned? In mazhab Ahmad and others, there are two stances regarding this matter. If the adulterer isn’t married, he or she should be whipped 100 times according to The Holy Book (Al-Quran Al-Karim) and exiled for a year by sunnah of the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him, although some scholars viewed that the exile is not compulsory.
Stoning will not be established until there are four witnesses that bear witness of the adultery, or the adulterer himself or herself testify for him or herself by four testimonies, according to the majority of scholars. Some of them considered that one testimony upon him or herself is enough. Supposed that he or she denied it, and that adulterer drew his testimony, then some scholars said that the punishment is cancelled. While some others believed that it should not be cancelled.
Muhshan is free man who are already burdened to follow orders in syariah, who has had sexual intercourse with a woman whom he married even just for once. Is it required for the woman to be equal in those characteristics to that man? Regarding this question, there are two stances of the scholars. And is a teenager who are about to be a grown-up considered as muhshan or not?
As for ahlu dzimmah (the protected, non muslim citizen), they are considered as muhshan according to the majority of scholars such as Imam Ash Shafi’i and Imam Ahmad. Because the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- had stoned two Jews at the side of the Mosque and it was the beginning of stoning in Islam.
Scholars differed regarding pregnant woman who has no husband nor master (if she is a slave-girl) and there is no vagueness in her pregnancy. And here are two stances in mazhab Ahmad and others regarding this matter. It is said that there are no punishment (had) for her; since she might be pregnant due to rape, or due to various possibilities or due to vague intercourse. Another opinion said she must be punished. The latter is the more famous opinion that is narrated from the four caliph and it is closer to the principles of law in syariah and it is the stance of the dwellers of Medina because the seldom possibilities should not be taken into account, such as the chance of her and the witness lying.
As for the homosexual and lesbian, some scholars said that their punishment resembles the punishment for adultery. There are also people who said that it is not same, and this is the stance of the companions : both should be killed, the sinner and the victim, whether he or she is already married or not. The authors of Sunan books had narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas -may Allah be pleased with him-, from the Prophet -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,
“Whomever you found doing the practice of Lot’s nation, should be killed, both the sinner and. the victim.”
Abu Daud narrated from Ibn Abbas -may Allah be pleased with him- about a girl who was found doing lesbian act, and according to him, she must be stoned. The same thing is narrated from Sayidina Ali Ibn Abi Thalib -may Allah be pleased with him.
The companions agreed upon this law but they had different opinions on how to kill them. It is narrated from As-Sideq -may Allah be pleased with him- that he ordered to burn them. The others said, they must be killed. Another opinion said that a wall should be stumbled upon them until they died under it’s wreckage, or they are caged in the most rotten place until dead. Some of them said, they are raised to the highest wall of the village and thrown from it together with some stones, as Allah did to the nation of Luth. This narration is from Ibn Abbas -may Allah be pleased with him-. And in another narration it is said that they should be stoned. This is the opinion of the majority of the scholars in past time, and they said, “Because Allah had stoned the nation of Luth, and He ordered to stone the adulterer which resembles the stoning that was afflicted upon the nation of Luth. ”
My conclusion is both the sinner and the victim should be stoned, whether they are free men or slaves, or one of them is a slave and the other is a free man, if they are grown-ups. If one of them has not yet grown-up, then he should be punished with other punishment that killing, since stoning merely applied to the grown-ups.
The one to whom it is done is like the one who does it, because they both took part in the sin. So both are to be punished by execution, as it says in the hadith. But two exceptions may be made to that:
Firstly, One who is forced into sodomy by means of beating, death threats and the like. He is not subject to any had punishment.
It says in Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (3/348): There is no had punishment if the one who has been sodomized is forced into it, such as if the one who did it overpowered him or threatened him with death or beating and the like. End quote.
Secondly, if the one to whom it was done is a minor and has not reached the age of puberty. There is no had punishment in this case, but he should be disciplined and punished in a way that will deter him from committing this crime, as stated above in the quotation from Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated in al-Mughni (9/62) that there is no difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the fact that the had punishment should not be carried out on one who is insane or a boy who has not yet reached the age of puberty.
I hope Muslimin and Muslimat in Brunei Darussalam are aware about that consequences about adulterer and homosexuality / lesbian. They should avoid these crime and make goods everytime so we’ll go to heaven easily, amin ya rabbal alamin.
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