|
|
Homosexuality and Islam - An Islamic Perspective
·
The most important thing for us as Muslims is that Islam is not our ethnicity,
it is our religion which regulates our lives and from which we derive our
values.
· Even though our religion allows us latitude, more than most, to ponder
& reconsider some issues, homosexuality is clearly & explicitly condemned
by the Quran (7:80-83, 11:77-79), the Prophet, & his progeny.
· When we have a conflict with the Quran, which is the word of God
verbatim, we do not ask where the Quran went wrong but rather why are we,
limited beings, in conflict with the wisdom of the absolute, God.
· As Muslims we do not make up our religion, but we receive it and
we obey it.
· We can further point out the following: God has created everything
in pairs each endowed with physical and psychological characteristics to complement
and complete one another. The Quran (4:1) indicates that human beings have
been created from one living entity (nafs), which represents the origin of
both the male and the female. The human species though has included male and
female since its existence. The "mating" or "spousing"
of male and female sexes is original in human nature and out of this instinctive
relationship the human race develops, continues and spreads. Between the two
sexes a gravitating combination of love, tenderness, and care is engendered,
so that each finds in the other completeness, tranquility, and support (Quran
30:21). Having children and loving them represents another fulfillment of
the human nature (Quran 42:49-50). It is through this spousal complementation
and completion, according to the Quran (7:189), that each spouse achieves
comfort, and enjoys peace of mind, satisfaction, and fulfillment. These relationships
extend beyond the physical sexual contact and to psychological, spiritual
relations. The blessings of this completeness are not ended by their accomplishment,
but they continue and develop through bringing forth children, raising them,
and providing the whole family with material, emotional, and moral needs.
The pleasures of completion and procreation may well be extended and multiplied,
when one is granted grand children, who not only represent genealogical continuation,
but are also a dynamic revitalization of the human race. Such physical-psychological-spiritual
development through spousing and mating, followed by procreation, which may
continue for more than one generation, ought to lead every sensible human
being to be grateful to God for His successive and multiplying favors with
his own family throughout his lifetime. Such persons and their happy veritable
families would be models for the whole society (Quran 25:72).
· One of the criteria or litmus test of a behavior that is beneficial
to humanity at large is, "what if the action that you are promoting is
exercised by a majority of the people of the world? Will it advance humanity
or will it retard it?" In this case human beings will cease to exist.
· Even if there is a genetic propensity towards homosexuality, it is
the nobility of the human spirit that can overcome it. There are suggestions
that alcoholics are genetically pre-disposed to their behavior. Furthermore,
some people are inherently prone to take risks, which is an essential element
for human progress and development. This pre-disposition to risk taking behavior
can easily lead to the destructive behavior of gambling. We do not encourage
the people with a propensity to alcoholism or gambling to keep on indulging
in these vices, but rather encourage them to resist and overcome them. We
should do the same with homosexual feelings and tendencies. Whether one has
the orientation or harbors "homosexual genes," one's feelings and
desires cannot dictate behavior. One may have a strong urge to have a homosexual
contact, a heterosexual contact with one other than one's own spouse, or to
steal or kill. The nobility of the human spirit is to resist, and this is
what elevates the human being to the status above that of the angels.
· We, as Muslims, have benefit and blessings of divine guidance and
wisdom. The Quran reminds us that Allah (SWT) will change the condition of
the people only if they themselves put forth the effort (13:11).