What is the status of a Muslim who performs the pillars of Islam, believes in the pillars of faith, and affirms the oneness of God, but dies without having repented from sodomy? Will he abide eternally in Hell like the disbelievers, or will he be punished for his sins and then enter Paradise?

Sodomy is a grave sin, and its perpetrator is in great peril. It is one of the most corrupting of sins, and its corruption may be greater than that of murder, yet it does not expel its doer from the fold of Islam. Thus, whoever dies persisting in this sin without repentance, their ruling, according to the People of the Sunnah and the Community, is the ruling for perpetrators of grave sins: they are a disobedient Muslim, subject to the will of Allah. If Allah wills, He may forgive them and admit them to Paradise, and if He wills, He may punish them according to their sin, then bring them out of Hellfire into Paradise after purification. This is contrary to the view of the Khawarij and the Mu'tazilah, who believe that the perpetrator of a grave sin is an apostate or will abide eternally in Hellfire. The proof for this is Allah's saying: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills."