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Is Homosexuality Congenital?  

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Ustadha Zaynab Ansari, SunniPath Academy Teacher

A gay man at work has asked me: If god destroyed the people of Lot for this sin, then why did god create me like this? He says that he was born like that. What does Islam say about homosexuality and what can I tell him. Also, the men in Pakistan who dress like women also say that ask god why he has created us like this.

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace shower upon our Beloved Messenger.

Allah, the Exalted, has stated quite emphatically in the Qur’an that homosexuality is a sin. If homosexuality were something natural and congenital (meaning that you’re born with it), then Allah would not have made it a sin and destroyed the people of Lut (peace be upon him) for it.

Today, many homosexuals attempt to justify their behavior by claiming that they were born that way. This is really just a way to give in to their desires without addressing the underlying causes of their behavior. Your co-worker was not born this way. But, somehow in early childhood he was exposed to something that predisposed him toward homosexuality. Although no one is born homosexual, there are environmental factors which can predispose someone to certain types of behaviors.

Even if we concede that there might be a genetic component to homosexuality, in the same way that some alcoholics have genes that predispose them to alcoholism, this doesn’t mean that one has to give in to these desires. It is possible that someone might feel that they have a desire to kill someone, steal, set fire to something, or abuse children. Does that mean they should act on these feelings because they can’t help it? Certainly not!

Allah does not place on us a burden that we cannot bear. Please encourage your co-worker to look within himself and consider what might have made him this way. He was not born this way. Allah’s wisdom is infinite. There are many reasons why He has made homosexuality unlawful. Our Creator has put us on this earth so that we may obey Him. Part of obeying Him is to fight desires that take us away from our or divinely-ordained nature (fitra). Homosexuality is one such desire that subverts the natural sexuality of men and women.

As to men in Pakistan who cross dress, they have no one but themselves to blame for their behavior. Islam makes it quite clear that men are to be men and women are to be women. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke about the sinfulness of imitating members of the opposite sex.

All we have to do is look to the perfect example of our Prophet to know what is appropriate.

And Allah knows best.

Zaynab Ansari

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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