Is committing indecency without penetration considered sodomy, and is repentance obligatory for desiring males without practicing it, and will one who practices sodomy in old age be held accountable if it was due to a prior sexual assault in childhood?

Sodomy is one of the gravest sins and indecencies. Sincere repentance for it is accepted, no matter how great the sin. Allah Almighty says: "Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." (Quran 25:70) And Allah Almighty says: "Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."" (Quran 39:53)

The conditions for the acceptance of repentance are: abstaining from the sin, regretting it, and resolving not to return to it. This can be achieved by seeking Allah's help, avoiding the company of sinners, associating with the righteous, frequently engaging in remembrance (dhikr) and supplication (du'a), and filling free time with beneficial activities.

Sodomy that necessitates the prescribed legal punishment (hadd) is the penetration of the glans into the anus. As for the مقدمات (preliminaries) of sodomy without penetration, they are forbidden and reprehensible, but they do not necessitate the hadd. A man's inclination towards another man, if it is without the intention of committing the sin, carries no sin. However, one must strive against their lower self.

A child who has been subjected to sexual assault bears no sin, due to the lifting of legal accountability from him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The pen is lifted from three: from the insane person until he recovers, from the sleeper until he awakens, and from the child until he reaches puberty." However, if a child commits the indecency of sodomy after reaching puberty, of his own free will, then he bears the sin of this major transgression.