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What is the ruling on homosexuality in Islam? Are homosexuals considered mentally ill individuals who are not held accountable for their actions? And how does Allah punish them for a behavior that many psychologists regard as innate?"

1 min readAlso available in العربية

There is no disagreement regarding the prohibition of sexual deviancy, whether sodomy (liwāṭ) or lesbianism (siḥāq). The punishment for sodomy is death, whereas for lesbianism, there is no prescribed hadd punishment, but rather taʿzīr (discretionary punishment). A mere inclination that is not followed by action or speech is not punishable, and the struggle of the person who experiences it against it is a sign of piety and obedience. One must deal kindly with those whose deviancy is limited to an inclination without action. As for those who commit the prohibited act, it is necessary to combine admonition, advice, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and punishment. The claim that sexual deviancy is innate is incorrect; rather, it is an anomaly caused by environmental, satanic, and psychological factors.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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