Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!
If we look at the story of Lot as it is in the Quran, we find that they are called “transgressing people” or “ignorant people” for a number of reasons, one of them were that they were fornicating with people of the same sex.
Of course, practicing homosexual fornication wasn’t the only thing they were punished for. They were criminals who committed a variety of disapproved acts, wrongfully blocked traffic, were hostile towards travelers and guests, tried to assault God’s messengers when they appeared in Lot’s home, disbelieved in Lot, and tried to expel his family from their town.
Therefore, despite Lot trying to warn them about the punishment as best as he can, his people failed to listen. So a rain of stones made of baked clay caused their destruction.
- [7:80-82] And Lot, when he said to his people, “Do you commit the enormity, in which not anyone of the people preceded you? Indeed, you come to men with lust, aside from the women. Rather, you are an excessive people.” The response of his people was not but that they said, “Exit them from your town. Indeed, they are a people who cleanse themselves.”
- [29:28-29] And Lot, when he said to his people, “Indeed, you definitely commit the enormity, with which not anyone among the people has preceded you. Indeed, you come to the men, cut off the way, and commit the disapproved among your associates.” But the response of his people was not but that they said, “Come to us with God’s punishment, if you have been of the truthful.”
- [11:77-78] And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed and straitened by them, uneasy. He said, “This is a severe day!” And his people came to him. They hurtled toward him, while before they had been doing the evil deeds. He said, “O my people, these are my daughters. They are cleaner for you. So revere God, and do not disgrace me concerning my guests. Has there not been a rightly-guided man among you?”
Homosexual Marriages
The Quran does not actually forbid homosexual marriages. They are totally permissible as a result.
In the Quran, the prophet Lot tells his people not to commit homosexual fornication and marry women.
But Quranic prohibitions are not derived from the words of a past prophet. Only God is the lawmaker in Islam (verse 6:114, 42:21) so Islamic law is derived from God’s own spoken instructions to us in the Quran rather than the quoted words of a past prophet.
Different people over time were given their own laws and methods. The Israelites at the time of Moses would be held accountable for violating the Sabbath, but we Muslims today will not.
Likewise, a prohibition on homosexual activity may have been a part of the law that Lot was sent with, but we are not held accountable for the law that the prophet Lot delivered from God to his people.
Quran Punishes Homosexual Fornication, Not Homosexual Marriage
God in the Quran only mention punishing homosexual fornication (known as zina) which is the same 100 lashes prescribed for all fornicators in verse 24:2.
In verse 4:16, the words “alladhani” (which means “the two who”) is a relative pronoun used to refer to two male nouns, thus it is the only verse addressing any sort of punishment for a homosexual couple who fornicates.
The words “among you” indicate that the punishment only applies to Muslims. There is no verse specifying a punishment for lesbian fornication, but ostensibly the same punishment (100 lashes) would apply to them as well.
- [4:16] And the two among you who come with it, you shall thus punish both of them. Then if they repented and reformed, you shall thus avert from them. Indeed, God has been Acceptor of Repentance, Merciful.
Islamic law comes from the Quran and not the words, traditions, beliefs, and cultures of any person or group of people. The Quran has multiple verses warning against prohibiting something God never prohibited, therefore a Muslim is required to put his or her ego and cultural beliefs aside when investigating what the Quran forbids and permits.
This applies to even myself; even though I had been following the Quran alone for almost 10 years now, it wasn’t until November or December 2024 that I realized homosexual marriages were not actually forbidden in the Quran.
Addressing Counterarguments
Unnatural Does Not Mean Right or Wrong
While some may dislike the idea of homosexual marriages because homosexual activity is inherently “unnatural” and doesn’t occur in nature.
That’s not true, because homosexual activity is well-documented among hundreds of animal species.1 Those range from fish, frogs, toads, snakes, birds, apes, dolphins, and many others.
And whether an activity is permissible doesn’t depend on whether it exists in nature or not. Very simply, if God in the Quran is silent on homosexual marriages, then it is 100% permitted.
There are plenty of other types of marriage which are permitted due to God being silent in the Quran about these marriages.
- One example is cousin marriages; the Quran is silent on those marriages, so they are lawful.
- Another example is marriage with someone old enough to be your mom or dad; the Quran is silent on marriages with high age gaps, so they are lawful.
Does Quran’s Silence = Forbidden?
Another objection may be that since the Quran only mentions heterosexual marriage, and not homosexual marriage, that means homosexual marriages aren’t valid.
However, when discussing transportation, the Quran mentions ships and livestock animals. It does not mention cars, buses, or trains. Does that mean cars, buses, and trains are a prohibited form of transportation? Of course not.
When talking about earning money, the Quran mentions only trade or commerce, but it doesn’t mention investment, salaries, wages, or retirement pensions, so does that mean trade is the only permissible way to make money? Of course not.
If you believe that the Quran has all the details needed for a Muslim to practice Islam (verses 12:111, 16:89), then fabricating a prohibition that does not exist in the Quran is like declaring that the Quran is missing some details.
Thus, if you see a Muslim homosexual married couple today, please give them the same respect and recognition given to heterosexual Muslim married couples.
Marriage Rule for Homosexual Couples
So for homosexual spouses, there are no dowry requirement, nor are there any formal set of marriage and divorce rules unlike with heterosexual married couples.
The marriage and divorce rules between homosexual couples is purely governed by whatever the couple agreed upon in their marriage contract. That includes how they decide to make their divorce official in Islam, such as whether they have a waiting period before the divorce, or use arbitration between both families to discuss reconciliation, or if both of them agree to say a certain phrase to make the divorce instant, or any other method.
All necessary prenuptial agreements belong in the marriage contract, whether homosexual or heterosexual.
Conclusion
In conclusion, don’t feel embarrassed to marry someone of the same sex as a Muslim. You are not committing a prohibited action.
Just for clarification purposes, regarding the inheritance between homosexual spouses, the Quran only prescribes certain rules for heterosexual spouses inheriting one another.
If someone wants to leave behind some property for a spouse to inherit in a homosexual marriage, there has to be a separate will written for the spouse. The leftover money after all wills and debts are paid off are distributed according to the Quranic inheritance formula.
Reference
- Bagemihl B. (1999). Biological exuberance: Animal homosexual and natural diversity. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. ↩︎
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