Gifts of Knowledge

ʿUthaimīn: We have two powerful stories for this lesson. The first is that of the People of Lūṭ. They were polytheists and a sin became commonplace amongst them in addition to shirk, which was what? Homosexuality, and we seek Allaah’s refuge from it, i.e., lusting after men, which their Prophet Lūṭ described as, ‘The Fāḥishah الفاحشة, The shameful deed/the great sin,” and Allaah described fornication [zinā] as, ‘Fāḥishah فاحشة, a shameful deed/a great sin.’

Which is greater, ‘The Fāḥishah,’ or ‘a Fāḥishah?’ ‘The Fāḥishah,’ is, i.e., it is the major shameful deed/the great sin.

And that is why homosexuality is more severe than zinā, and we seek Allaah’s refuge, homosexuality is more severe than zinā, men going to men—because it has been described as, ‘The Fāḥishah,’ and zinā was described as, ‘A Fāḥishah.’

Sound natural disposition is repulsed by this hideous act, that a man goes to a man, and Allaah’s refuge is sought.

That is why their Prophet rebuked them for it, saying, “Why do you ˹men˺ lust after fellow men, leaving the wives that your Lord has created for you?” This goes against sound intellect/reasoning [ʿaql] “In fact, you are a transgressing people.” [26:165-166] This goes against sound intellect totally and it is one of the most dangerous things that a nation can face in terms of it turning its manners on its head and corrupting them.

When someone who this has been done to grows up and realises what happened to him his face goes gloomy, [questioning] how he can go before people to such an extent that some of them have wanted to kill the person who did this wicked deed to them saying because he has made me walk among people as though I’m a woman …

So it is an enormous, major Fāḥishah and it is not [even] possible to be wary of it because how can you say to two men walking together, [for example], “Part ways,” you can’t [i.e., the Shaikh is saying you can’t tell if they are homosexual or not and remember the Shaikh said this decades ago in Saudi, as for around the world nowadays!], but if you found a man with a woman who he is not allowed to be with it is possible to tell them to part.

But this is a problem, it is something hidden, flowing through the community like poison in the body.

Fatāwā al-Ḥaram al-Makkī, 1416, 6a.