Homosexuality that means sexual or romantic attraction to the people of the same sex has been a controversial issue to psychiatrists since they have been expected to examine this sexual orientation and its relation to mental health.

It has also caused controversy in the religious communities as they have been condemned for being narrow-minded due to their denial of this so-called natural and instinctive phenomenon. Here, we attempt to explore Islamic view on Homosexuality and explain the philosophy behind Islam’s objection to this matter.

Homosexual Community: to Be Continued?

In the Quranic view, the family consists of a pair of male and female. This was indeed the basis of the creation of Adam and Eve. The couple who were the father and mother of the whole human race:

‘O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another.’ (49:13) [1].

Since family is of high importance in Islamic teachings, anything that damages this ‘Holy’ social unit is subject to criticism. Same-sex marriages contradict the law of creation which is based upon the continuation of the human race. Had homosexuality become popular, reproduction would stop.

It is also due to its social consequences that Islam warns us against homosexuality. A person once questioned Imam Sadeq(AS): “Why has Allah prohibited sodomy?”. The Imam (AS) replied: “Had sex with boys been lawful, the men would have become independent of women (and disinclined towards them) causing man's lineage to become terminated and natural heterosexual intercourse to come to an end, and this would have brought about great moral and social evils” [2].

The above narration explains that sodomy, or homosexuality, makes men needless of women sexually and vice versa! So the doer of sodomy no longer desires to marry the opposite sex. This is seen as a serious threat to the continuation of the human race. Since it is through the opposite-sex marriages that the human race will continue.

Homosexuality: In the Quran

Homosexuality is addressed in the Quran through a well-known story called the story of the ‘People of Lot’. This story is cited in the Quran seven times. And it shows the importance of these people and the acts that they were punished for. ‘People of Lot’ are known as a nation that was thoroughly destroyed by God owing to their lustful acts [3]:

"And Lot, when he said to his people, ‘What! Do you commit an outrage none in the world ever committed before you?! Most surely you come to males in lust besides females; nay you are an extravagant people’"(7:80-81).

In the above verse, the Prophet Lot (PBUH) condemns his people for their sexual desires towards men instead of women. Elsewhere in the Quran, he recalls:

‘O my people, these are my daughters: they are purer for you. Be wary of Allah … Is there not a right-minded man among you?’ (11:78)

One of the important aspects of Lot’s story is their punishment. According to Islamic teachings, homosexuality is a sin greater than adultery. So its punishment is more severe.

It is also admitted in the Islamic narrations that when people commit sins that have not been committed before, their punishment will also be unprecedented. The Quran describes People of Lot’s chastisement and remarks that the whole nation was massacred except the Prophet Lot (PBUH) and his true followers:

‘O Lot, we are messengers of your Lord. They will never get at you. Set out with your family in a watch of the night; and none of you shall turn round, except your wife…..So when Our edict came, We made its topmost part its nethermost, and We rained on it stones of laminar shale’(11:82-83)

Homosexuality: As a Mental Disorder?!

In today’s liberal societies people are educated the way that they perceive homosexuality as an 'inborn’ tendency and only a variation of human sexual orientation [4]. In other words, the fact that one is born either male or female does not say anything about his or her sexual orientation. They might be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender! (LGBT) or it may happen that they are sexually straight!

Homosexuality has caused the field of psychiatry such a controversy that even after decades of studies on the issue one single position cannot be found in their findings. Homosexuality used to be identified as a mental disorder for the most of the 20th century. Even so, since 1970 there started a high scientific attempt to declassify homosexuality as a disorder. As a result of almost fifty years of attempts, we can see that since the late 20th-century homosexuality started to become legal in a few liberal countries (mainly Europe and America). And the same-sex marriages started to become recognized as a social norm.

Yet, there are still studies that argue against prior studies. They state that there is a misconception as to the definition of homosexuality in some of the major studies on the issue. Meaning, in the definition of a homosexual person they included any person who had had a same-sex sexual experience as an adult. But, some of the subjects that were engaged in homosexual behavior were not even attracted to the people of their own sex. It is also suggested that ‘homosexual people are at a substantially higher risk for some forms of emotional problems. These include suicidality, major depression, and anxiety disorder’ [5].

Despite the current professional position on homosexuality, same-sex orientation is still understood as immorality and as a rebellion against God by most nations and cultures throughout the world. The table of the LGBT rights according to different countries and territories is the evidence for this claim [6].

It has to be noted, however, that the fact that an individual has homosexual desires does not make him or her criminal according to Islamic law! This tendency is either a psychological or a physiological disorder that has to be cured. And as long as the person does not commit homosexual acts, he is not subject to any divine punishment.

Wrapping up

The aim of this article was to explore the Islamic view on Homosexuality. We found that Islam objects to homosexuality for several reasons. Most importantly, Islam regards the same-sex union as a threat to the continuation of the human race.

Also, since the family in Islam is seen as a holy unit and it consists of a male and a female, again homosexual orientation goes against Islamic values and teachings and threatens human survival.  We also examined if the same-sex sexual orientation is a disorder. Despite the high controversy of the issue, there is a kind of consensus that homosexual people are at a higher risk for emotional problems such as suicidality, major depression, and anxiety disorder.

To conclude, despite recent attempts of declassifying homosexuality as a disorder and the legitimization of the same sex union and marriages in some liberal societies, as statics show still the majority of countries and cultures understand homosexual acts as immorality and as a rebellion against social norms and religions that threatens human survival.

References:

1. Qari translation of the Quran, available at
2. Wasa`il ash-Shia, vol. 14, pg. 252.
3. Qur’anic references to the People of Lot: 7:80–84, 11:77–83, 21:74, 22:43, 26:165–175, 27:56–59, and 29:27–33).
4. Rizvi, Sayyid Muhammad, Marriage and Moral in Islam, available at
5. Bailey, J. Michael,  ‘Homosexuality and Mental Illness’, available at
6. See the chart at

There are many verses in the Quran about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH). Muslims just like Christians revere Jesus, and some even believe that he is more honored among Muslims. They assert Jesus’ holiness and the fact that he was miraculously conceived in the womb of his virgin mother, Saint Mary.

It is also agreed in the religion of Islam that Jesus was supported by some miracles to prove that he was a Messenger of God. However, there are some different beliefs that Muslims have about the nature and life occurrences of this noble Messenger, which are as follows:

Jesus is a Human

Jesus Christ was a human born of a virgin mother. As the last in the line of Jewish prophets, he was sent to guide the Children of Israel with a new scripture. According to the Quran, Jesus was no more than a messenger just like the previous messengers of God who had a worldly life like all the other creatures:

“Indeed the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was” (3:59).

Quran also affirms that Jesus was the Word of God but not because of an incarnation whereby his flesh became Divine, rather because his spirit was refined to such an extent that it became a mirror that reflected Divinity:

“When the angels said, ‘O Mary, Allah gives you the good news of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, distinguished in the world and the Hereafter and one of those brought near [to Allah]” (3:45).

Just as the creation of Adam and Eve who were born without a human mother or a human father, the miraculous birth of Jesus does not grant him a higher status to be God or a part of Him. Therefore, Jesus, like the other earthly humans, lives a temporary life and dies:

 “Peace to me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised alive” (19:33).

It is also stated in the Holy Quran that Jesus and his mother would eat daily food, which is a typical human act that cannot be attributed to God:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, is but an apostle. Certainly, [other] apostles have passed before him, and his mother was a truthful one. Both of them would eat food...” (5:75)

Jesus Christ is not God nor the Son of God

“He [God] neither begets, nor was begotten” (112:3)

As mentioned earlier, the Quran states that Jesus was a prophet. Prophets are certainly the best humans God has chosen to receive His revelation to guide humankind; they deserve our greatest honors, but not our worship. Jesus Christ was not different in this respect, neither was he God’s assistant in creating and governing the world:

“It is not for Allah to take a son. Immaculate is He!” (19:35)

“O People of the Book! Do not exceed the bounds in your religion, and do not attribute anything to Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only an apostle of Allah, and His Word that He cast toward Mary and a spirit from Him. So have faith in Allah and His apostles, and do not say, ‘[God is] a trinity.’ Relinquish [such a creed]! That is better for you. Allah is but the One God. He is far too immaculate to have any son...” (4:171).

So, God alone suffices to rule and supervise the whole universe and all humans’ affairs.

Jesus Christ foretold the coming of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP)

Not only did Jesus affirm the scriptures revealed before him, but he also prophesied the arrival of the last messenger of God after him, i.e., prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come” (John, 16:13)

This is also mentioned in the Quran:

“And when Jesus son of Mary said, ‘O Children of Israel! Indeed, I am the apostle of Allah to you, to confirm what is before me of the Torah, and to give the good news of an apostle who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad” (61:6)

Jesus Christ is a servant of Allah

Jesus himself never claimed to be God incarnate or the son of God; he declared to be a human being and a servant of God, who was advised to worship Him:

“He said, ‘Indeed I am a servant of Allah! He has given me the Book and made me a prophet” (19:30).

“He has made me blessed, wherever I may be, and He has enjoined me to [maintain] the prayer and to [pay] the zakat as long as I live” (19:31)

And when he invited children of Israel to worship Allah, he said Allah is his Lord too and believed he was like the other children of Israel before God.

“[And Jesus said,] ‘Indeed Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him. This is a straight path’” (19:36)

He strongly forbade association of partners with Allah, saying:

“… ‘O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord, and your Lord. Indeed, whoever ascribes partners to Allah, Allah shall forbid him [entry into] paradise, and his refuge shall be the Fire, and the wrongdoers will not have any helpers’” (5:72).

Moreover, the Holy Quran says that Jesus himself denied having any qualities of divinity or being elevated to the status of God:

“And when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus son of Mary! Was it you who said to the people, ‘‘Take my mother and me for gods besides Allah’’?’ He will say, ‘Immaculate are You! It does not behoove me to say what I have no right to [say]…” (5:116).

Jesus Christ performed miracles by the will and permission of God

Miracles are seals of a divine mission. All prophets were granted miracles to prove the integrity of their message. These miracles were not performed of the prophets’ own accord or under their power; rather, they were all manifest in their hands by God’s will and permission. Jesus was no exception; the Quran says:

“When Allah will say, O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, so you would speak to the people in the cradle and in adulthood, and when I taught you the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Evangel, and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave, and you would breathe into it and it would become a bird, with My leave; and you would heal the blind and the leper, with My leave, and you would raise the dead, with My leave;…” (5:110)

Jesus  Christ was neither killed nor was he crucified

It is clarified in the Quran that Jesus was not crucified, but instead, he was raised to the heaven by God:

“and for their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the apostle of Allah’—though they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but so it was made to appear to them. Indeed, those who differ concerning him are surely in doubt about him: they do not have any knowledge of that beyond following conjectures, and certainly, they did not kill him. Indeed, Allah raised him up toward Himself…” (4: 157,158)

Finally, Muslims believe that after Jesus’ departure from the earth, his teachings were distorted. But with the advent of Islam, six centuries later, the truth about Jesus Christ and his teachings were revived and preserved in the last divine book of revelation, the holy Quran. Nowadays, Muslims follow the consistent message brought by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) as well as all the other holy prophets including Jesus; their lifestyle is more in tune with what Jesus practiced in life, and they highly respect him.

Muslims also hold that Jesus is alive in the same mortal body and at the time during the appearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) he will return to earth, and they will both fill the world with blessings and happiness.

Reference:

1. The holy Quran
2. jesus christ
3. prophet jesus
4. Jesus in Islam