Refuting open promotion of Homosexuality by Express Tribune: The Islamic Perspective

In Islam sex out of wedlock is a major sin and if this act becomes apparent then its penalty is death in shara'i government.
Recently some of so called Muslims started trend of Same Sex Marriages. First of all their is no concept same sex marriage in Islam as it goes against fundamental definition and purpose of marriage . But shame on these people they want to make revive the practice of People of  Lot(AS). Who made homosexuality as a social norm.

  It was narrated that Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Loot.’”
Similarly it is one of the signs of day of judgement that this act will increase in society.

Let us discussion that in some detail objectively.

Marriage in Islam: Goals, and Purpose

In this Chapter:
  

•     The definition of marriage
•     The important goals of marriage itself

The Definition of Marriage (Nikah)

The original meaning of the work nikah is the physical relationship between man and woman.  It is also used secondarily to refer to the contract of marriage which makes that relationship lawful.  Which of the two meanings is intended can be determined by the context in which it is used.

As for the definition of marriage in fiqh, the simple definition would go something like this:

    "A contract that results in the two parties physically enjoying each other in the manner allowed by the Shari'a."

Since this only focuses on one aspect of the marriage contract, Muhammad Abu Zahrah (a modern scholar) defines it like this:

    "A contract that results in the man and woman living with each other and supporting each other within the limits of what has been laid down for them in terms of rights and obligations."

Ibn Uthaimeen takes an even more comprehensive view of the institution of marriage in his definition of it as:

    "It is a mutual contract between a man and a woman whose goal is for each to enjoy the other, become a pious family and a sound society."

The Purpose and Goals of Marriage

Like anything a Muslim does, marriage should only be undertaken after gaining an understanding of all that Allah has prescribed in terms of rights and obligations as well as gaining an understanding of the wisdom behind this institution.   Nearly all peoples and all societies practice marriage in some form, just as they practice business (buying and selling).  Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to expel people from the marketplace in Madina who were not knowledgeable of the fiqh of buying and selling.  Likewise, a Muslim should not engage in something as important as marriage without having understanding of the purpose of marriage in Islam as well as a comprehensive understanding of the rights and obligations which it brings about.

One of the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence says that:  "The default state of all things is lawfulness until some evidence shows otherwise."   Based on this, if new foods are discovered, they are considered lawful, unless there is some specific reason or attribute which would make it forbidden for example if it is causes intoxication.  Relations between men and women do not follow this general principle and in fact are opposite to it.  The principle is that:   "Relations between men and women are forbidden until some evidence shows otherwise."

Procreation (Children)

On of the most important purposes of marriage is to continue and increase the population of the Muslims.  Clearly, this goal could be achieved without marriage, but when actions are undertaken in disobedience to Allah, they do not receive the blessing of Allah and the whole society is corrupted.  The Prophet (sas) said:

    "Ankihoo fa inniy mukaathirun bikum al umam yaum al-Qiyama"
    "Marry, for I will outnumber the other nations by you on Qiyama." (Ibn Majah - Sahih)

It should be stressed that the goal is not simply to produce any child that will live in the next generation. It is to produce righteous children who will be obedient to Allah and who will be a source of reward for their parents after they die.  The Prophet (sas) will NOT be boasting before the other nations on the day of Qiyama with children of Muslim parents who left the path of Islam.  Thus it is the responsibility of Muslim parents to seek the means of giving their children the training and education they need not just to grow, but to succeed as Muslims worshipping and obeying Allah.  This obligation may include migration (hijrah), establishing of Muslim communities and schools and other obligations.   As the scholars have said in another principle of fiqh:

    "Maa laa yutimmu al-wajibu illa bihi fa huwa wajib."
    "That without which an obligation cannot be fulfilled is itself obligatory."

Pleasure

Islam is the religion of the fitrah - the religion which is consistent with the natural instincts and needs of mankind.  It is not like the man-made (of modified) religions which set unnatural constraints on people whether self-inflicted prohibition of marriage (nuns and monks, etc.), prohibition of divorce or monogamy.  Men are inclined toward women and women are inclined toward men.   Marriage is the institution which fulfills this desire and channels it in ways pleasing to Allah Most High.  Allah mentions this attraction:

    {Zuyyina li an-naasi hubbu ash-shahawaati min an-nisaa'i wa al-baneen...}
    {The love of the desires for women, sons, ... has been made attractive to people.}  Aal-'Imraan:14

The Messenger of Allah himself made clear that the attraction between the sexes is something natural and not something to be denied or suppressed - only channelled in the ways pleasing to Allah Most High, saying:

    "Hubbiba ilayya min dunyaakum an-nisaa'u wa at-teebu wa ju'ilat qurratu 'ainiy fiy as-salat."
    "Women and perfume have been made beloved to me of this world of yours and my peace of mind is in the prayer."  (Ahmad & others - sahih)

The desire of men and women for each other is an urge which needs to be fulfilled.   If it is left unfulfilled, it will be a source of discord and disruption in society.  For this reason, the Prophet (sas) ordered all men who are capable of meeting the responsibilities of marriage to do it:

    "Man kana minkum dhaa tawlin, falyatazawwaj fa innahu aghadhdh lilbasari wa ahsanu lilfarji wa man laa fa as-saumu lahu wijaa."
    "Whichever of you is capable should marry for it will aid him in lowering his gaze and guarding his body (from sin).  As for the one who is not capable, fasting is his protection."  (An-Nasaa'i - sahih)

Conclusion Concerning the Ruling of Marriage

The opinion that marriage is - overall - preferred (mustahabb) seems to be the strongest opinion.  Ibn Uthaimeen further points out that if a person desires to be married, it becomes even more important.  He said:  "Marriage in the case of desire for such is preferred over superogatory acts of worship, due to the many good results and praiseworthy effects it has."

Also, it is clear that there is a collective obligation (fardh kifaya) on the Ummah as a whole to promote, defend and facilitate the institution of marriage.   If marriage suffers from neglect or, for example, unreasonably high dowries which force people to postpone marriage too long, it is a collective obligation on the Ummah to come to its aid and to ensure that as many people as possible live within the context of a marriage.  Also, if a the Muslims come to have too many single women because of the abandonment of polygamy, it become a collective obligation on the Muslims to address and correct this situation.  This is all clearly based on the command of Allah in the verse previously cited which starts out:

{And marry off the single among you...}
(from: http://www.java-man.com/Pages/Marriage/Marriage02.html_

As sex of wedlock is forbidden and punishable if it becomes apparent  So same is the case with act of homosexuality. We can conclude the following:

1) There is no harm in having homosexual desire because this is something one may not be able stop. One must learn to suppress and control them.
An-Nawawi:
  A mukhannath is the one ("male") who carries in his movements, in his appearance and in his language the characteristics of a woman. There are two types; the first is the one in whom these characteristics are innate, he did not put them on by himself, and therein is no guilt, no blame and no shame, as long as he does not perform any (illicit) act or exploit it for money (prostitution etc.). The second type acts like a woman out of immoral purposes and he is the sinner and blameworthy. 

Shyakh Ayman bin Khaled (Multaqa Ahlal-Hadeeth):
As per Islamic terminology, the correct translation of Khutha is "Hermaphrodites" which means, one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made. The term effeminate is exclusive and serves negative meaning as it often refers to men adapting or imitating women. However, scholars later on expanded in using the term so that used to describe a man with feminism character with mukhannath (adjective derived from the term Khuntha), while the application of the term khuntha remained as is. So we conclude similarly that if someone develop SSA develops in a person than their no problem with until he/she act on it.

2) Doing act of homosexual is a major sin like Zina or may be even more swear sin. Prophet cursed the doers of this act.

Allah say is Quran:

“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)” [al-Isra’ 17:32]
Sex of out wedlock is unlawful and in Islam there is no concept of same-sex marriage.
Ahmad (2915) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May Allaah curse the one who does the action of the people of Loot, may Allaah curse the one who does the action of the people of Loot,” three times. This was classed as hasan by Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad.

3)And if that act becomes apparent in society then the people involved in it are executed.
Al-Tirmidhi (1456), Abu Dawood (4462)and Ibn Maajah (2561) narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Loot, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Both are to be punished by execution, as it says in the hadith. But two exceptions may be made to that:
i – One who is forced into sodomy by means of beating, death threats and the like. He is not subject to any hadd punishment.
It says in Sharh Muntaha al-Iraadaat (3/348): There is no hadd 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.
ii – If the one to whom it was done is a minor and has not reached the age of puberty. There is no hadd 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 Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah 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 hadd punishment should not be carried out on one who is insane or a boy who has not yet reached the age of puberty.

4) If some justifies the act and openly promotes it as society norm like people of Loot. Then it is not only kufr but their punishment is worst.
So what should one do being a Muslim that he/she got same sex attraction (SSA)? I will not be using word Gay, Lesbian or Bi for Muslims as I think that’s not appropriate for Muslims. Being Muslim one should learn to control and suppress SSA. And there are people who have successfully fully diminished and suppressed their desires, other have done partially i.e. SSA is still prevalent but never the less their live is satisfactory and there are other who are not successfully at all. Those who are not successful should take this as test from Allah and deal it patience. I have read testimonies of many Muslims who were unable to suppress their desires but they didn't have involved themselves it in this act and they say it made them spiritually stronger and closer to Allah. They turned their weakness to their strength. I will discuss that in next part.