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"BUT
I'M NOT HURTING ANYONE!"
Dear Mujahid,
I have a question.
I was in a
debate with a Syrian Christian and he calls himself gay. He was
asking me: If I am not hurting anybody, then it is OK.
I know it
doesn't make any sense. My answer was, God ordered us not to do
that sin. Whether we are not hurting anyone doesn't matter. We
have to obey our God's orders. My answer was not convincing. what
do you think the right answer should have been?
Well I think your answer was just
fine, but perhaps I can help you expand on it. The assumption behind
his statement was that "The morality of an action is judged
by the perceived harm caused to others than the individual who
performed the action." Where does this principle come from?
It is not taught by the Qur'an, nor by the previous scriptures. If
people wish to base their lives (their Deen) on wishful
sentiments, then that is up to them - but we Muslims base our ideas
on the Qur'an and Sunnah.
So, what do the Islamic sources
say? They tell us that we can do whatever we choose, BUT our
choices have consequences. Some of these consequences will become
apparent in this life, while others will not manifest themselves
until the Day of Judgement, when Allah (SWT) will take account of
everything in perfect justice. To attain success, we must follow the
commands and guidelines given to us by our Creator, the All-Knowing.
However, we do believe that there
is good reasoning behind every command or prohibition. On the other
hand, we do not necessarily know what the reasoning is! Sometimes we
can take a good guess, but we cannot be sure. Only Allah truly knows
what the benefits or harms of any action are for this life or the
next. While it may seem that what we do causes no harm, perhaps it
is more harmful than we can even imagine.
As for sodomy (homosexual
"sex"), it harms the individuals involved, and damages the
fabric of society as a whole. Nevertheless, even if we could not
think of or describe these harms (which we can), we would still
agree with the statement of Shabir
Ally that "Consenting adults also need God's consent".
On the other hand, there is a point
in what your Christian friend said, in that the actions of an
individual in private are not everyone's business! It is not for us
to examine and criticise what a person does in his home with
nobody's knowledge. We must be very clear, however, that this does NOT
affect whether the actions are right or wrong! That subject is
clarified only by reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Mujahid Mustaqim,
15 Mar 03
"DISAPPOINTED"
in no way am
i going to offend anyone here but i am sorry to say that i dont
believe for a minute that you are doing good for anyone here
struggling with there sexuality ..
i am muslim
an i am gay ...an i have no desire to change either .. to me you
are adding pressure to people here by telling them they are less
than they can be because they love feel etc for another person of
the same sex ...
i challenge
you to show me why you believe someone who is gay should try to be
straight ...whos benefit does it serve ??
there are
confused guys/girls out there who just need time to find out about
themselves .....your attitude should help them do this ..an it
should not be trying to change them ..just help them ...
young kids 18
to 20 are just discovering the world an themselves ..sexuality is
all a part of growing up ...we should be helping them to be better
people ..whether that means they are happy being straight ..gay
..bi ...is not important ..
we need to be
there for each other as muslim brothers ..
sex is a
natural outlet as is masturbation ....as long as its consensual an
not forced as in rape than for me its whats in the heart that
matters ...an the love in my heart is not brought from something
evil but from something good ...
islam is a
beautiful religion an has taught me to accept myself an others
without judgement ....we are resonsible only for our own actions
...
an please as
far as being gay is a test ...allah does not test anyone for his
whole life or seek that he should spend a life based on a lie ..
help the ones
who ask by all means but be honest in accepting that homosexuality
is not a choice but just how you are born if you are gay ..
dont believe
me ??? scientific studies support my view ...i suggest you
research your topic a bit more not only for yourbenefit but for
your readers as well .......
they deserve
to know the whole truth ...Dont they?
As-salaamu 'alaykum,
First of all, thank you for writing
to us - no offence has been taken. We welcome differing points of
view, so we can re-evaluate our approach and improve it if possible.
Then, if we are still sure that we are doing the right thing, we can
use comments like yours to demonstrate logically that we're right!
"i
am muslim an i am gay"
- What does Islam say about being "gay"? Try and
find me any reference. Your terminology is based on un-Islamic
ideas. As Muslims, we should try to understand things as Islam
explains them, as Islam is a whole way of life, and has its own
philosophy. We don't believe that people should be categorised
according to their attractions. "an
i have no desire to change either"
- Well, that's not the issue. The issue is whether you are
committing homosexual actions that are forbidden by Allah. If so,
you are doing yourself no good but actually adding to your negative
scale for the Day of Judgement! We are in constant need to repent
from the sins we commit, and part of repentance is to resolve not to
return to the sins.
"to
me you are adding pressure to people here by telling them they are
less than they can be because they love feel etc for another person
of the same sex"
- In fact that's not what we're saying. A person's feelings don't
make them "less", but going down a road of sin certainly
does debase a person. By struggling against unwanted desires, a
person actually becomes spiritually elevated and gains reward from
the Merciful God.
"i
challenge you to show me why you believe someone who is gay should
try to be straight ...whos benefit does it serve ??"
- All we are urging people to do is follow the guidance of Allah for
how to live this life and benefit in the Next. We say that Muslims
should follow the Qur'an and Sunnah, not their own desires, inflamed
by Satan. Who benefits? Only the person him/herself will benefit
from obeying Allah. However, we do hope that through our efforts,
people will turn to Allah more and that He will reward us for that.
If you don't know that homosexual acts are forbidden
categorically by Islam, then you need to read our Islamic
Rulings section.
"there
are confused guys/girls out there who just need time to find out
about themselves .....your attitude should help them do this"
- That's fine, but God has not left us alone to wander for
ourselves. He has revealed the Qur'an and His Prophet (on whom be
peace) has given us further guidelines for how to understand the
world and live in it. Surely you don't advocate ignoring this
advice? Do you tell parents to let their young children
"discover for themselves" that they shouldn't put their
hand in the fireplace?
"an
it should not be trying to change them ..just help them"
- We believe the best help we can offer is to explain what Islam
says about homosexual feelings, and offer advice on how to deal with
those feelings and stay on the Straight Way. "we
should be helping them to be better people"
- Exactly! And isn't it better to obey God than to disobey Him?
Isn't it better to follow His guidance than to go astray?
"sex
is a natural outlet as is masturbation ....as long as its consensual
an not forced as in rape than for me its whats in the heart that
matters"
- Yes, sex is natural and allowed. However, Islam has laid
boundaries on what is and is not acceptable. When Allah says "And
do not approach fornication", who are you to tell
people that human consent is all that matters? What about God's
consent? "an
the love in my heart is not brought from something evil but from
something good"
- Perhaps, but do you not acknowledge that there can be evil,
misplaced love too? How about love for money, love for power? The
Devil can make some things appear beautiful to us while their true
nature is ugly and abominable. It is God's guidance that cuts
through Satan's lies.
"islam
is a beautiful religion an has taught me to accept myself an others
without judgement ....we are resonsible only for our own actions"
- True, which is why the StraightWay Foundation never judges people!
Have I condemned you in any way? It is one thing to judge, but
another to give advice and warn people of the consequences of their
actions.
"allah
does not test anyone for his whole life or seek that he should spend
a life based on a lie"
- What is your evidence for this presumption about how Allah tests
His creatures? How do you know that He never tests a person for his
whole life? We do not advocate living on a lie, but in fact invite
people towards the truth. It is Satan who lies to people and makes
them think that their actions are acceptable. His forces in the
world are working hard, especially through the media, to blind
people to the reality, forcing people to identify as being of a
particular "orientation".
"dont
believe me ??? scientific studies support my view"
- I am well aware of such "scientific" studies, but
perhaps you're not aware of their limitations and flaws. Have a look
at NARTH
for some information. In short, it doesn't matter whether people are
born with these inclinations, it is what they do with them
that counts. You might not choose who you are attracted to, but you
choose whether to act on those urges or not!
Finally, I ask Allah to accept our
efforts and guide us on the Straight Way. May He forgive us and
grant us Jannah!
Mujahid Mustaqim,
1 Feb 03 |
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