Are "Gays" All Going to Hell?

A Muslim Brother sent us this eMail, saying "Gays" are all going into the FIRE (Hell) and then we responded.

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This is how I tried to answer the letter that brother Abdul-Rashid Sayfedden sent:

Bismillah Rahman Raheem Dear Brother, Salam alaykum wa Rahmatulah. May Allah continue you in your zeal for the love of this wonderful deen of Islam. May He make you of those who are the revivers of this deen. Ameen. Please ask Allah to Guide me and Forgive me if I make mistakes in what I am about to say. I would like to mention that you are so right in much of what you are saying with regard to the "gay" people who refer to themselves as "Muslims". But, I wanted to remind myself and all of us that we might take a cautious approach to the usage of the terms "kufr" and "kafar".

Now make no mistake, I do agree whole heartedly that there is NO PLACE IN ISLAM FOR SEXUAL MISFITS! However, they may or may not all be amongst the "Kufaar". That is to say, that while the act itself is definitely an act of "kufr", a person having committed such an act may not be a "kafar". I feel confident you understand my meaning and use of the terminology in this regard. This is really more for the benefit of those who may have been reading these emails and possibly do not have the depth of knowledge in Islam that you perhaps have. Let me point out a few areas which may have been misunderstood by others and could possibly use a little clarification: For instance in your e-mail you said:

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{ I am not surprised that the shatan would perpetuate his influence threw a few who are not practicing the deen or the sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH}.

Again, you are correct in bringing into the picture right from the beginning that it is a definite influence of the Shayton on the human being to commit such disgusting and unacceptable acts.

However, you mentioned that they are not practicing the 'deen' or the 'sunnah' of the Prophet (PBUH). It might be that a person (notice I am using the singular as opposed to the plural in this instance) is actually 'practicing 'deen' and the 'sunnah' at least on the outside. That is to say, perhaps an individual could be wearing sunnah dress, praying in the masjid and fasting along with the other Muslims and in this way would be considered to be 'practicing the sunnah and the deen of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

However, it could and does happen - even in the MASAJID IN SAUDI ARABIA - that a man has a sexual relationship with another man.

I might also add that it does happen that the men AND WOMEN sometimes left alone for too long a period of time or not offered the chance for marriage when they come of age (puberty) due to the families wanting them to wait for the 'certain cousin' or 'doctor-to-be' or what ever reason to continue postponing marriage can become in an illegal sexual relationship which does include homo-sexuality.

All of this is wrong and sinful and punishable in Islam, without a doubt. But we can not call these people 'kufar', lest we take the chance of becoming one ourselves. May Allah save us. Ameen.
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Next, you said:

(eMail to us continues...)

{The discussion of gay Muslims in itself is a blasphemous topic of actions that are clearly haram in every aspect of Islam. I will not entertain these devils (gays) in a context of the term Muslim. }

And again, I completely agree with the concept of the Shayton (devils) being the influence behind the actions and these individuals who are committing these acts are not Muslims (at least not at the time they commit such acts).
But, "blasphemy" is a word reserved for the Arabic word "Shirk". Allah mentions in His Book that He DOES NOT FORGIVE SHIRK, but anything less than this He can Forgive.
To make a partner with Allah is by far the worst and most blasphemous thing a person can do. But even then there exist different types of 'shirk'. As for example; 'shirk' in belief as opposed to 'shirk' in actions.

O.K. Next you said:

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Lets not be silly, a gay could never be a Muslim, a Muslim could never be a gay. A Muslim is just that, a Muslim. Sexual deviancy is exactly that, deviancy. ........................................

 

Now this is very important. While engaged in the act of homosexuality, of course the person is not being a Muslim. But a "Gay" could repent and then become a Muslim. That is probably what you meant and I am only saying this so that a "Gay" who is considering Islam will know that Allah is "Most Forgiving" and accepts the repentance of anyone as long as it is sincere. Deviancy in sexual matters does not mean the person could not change.

And you said:

By 'child molester' you mean a person who has sex with underage children, then of course this is bad. But age alone is not the only factor. If you recall the prophet, peace be upon him, married his wife Ayesha at the age of 7 years and she went to live with him at the age of 9 years. So, if the marriage is an Islamic one and the child is old enough to father/mother children then this is not considered deviancy in Islam. Rather it is a sunnah of the prophet himself, peace be upon him. Again, I am saying this for the benefit of those who may not be as familiar with Islam as you are.

Next you said:

I wish I had said those exact words. You really were on target here.

And then you said:

Again, I must caution all of us not to make a statement of 'who' is in the fire. As the prophet, peace be upon him, is reported in the collection of traditions of Imam Muslim, warned us not to say anyone is in the fire because for sure one of us will be.

 I recall one hadeeth (saying) mentioning a pious man and a sinner.

A pious man kept on warning a sinner about his actions but the other would not listen to him. Finally the pious man told him; "You will never change so Allah will NEVER FORGIVE you and you will go to Hell!". However, when Allah Ta'ala brought them back in the Next Life, He asked the pious worshipper; "Who are you to say that I won't Forgive someone?" "I do Forgive this sinner and I order you (the pious) into the Fire!"

Lastly, you said:

Now at last, you have come to my "favorite" subject. The difference between 'kufr in action' and 'kufr in iman (belief)':

None of us can say what is in the heart of another person. No one knows the intention of another. Please bear in mind that the prophet said something to the affect that "Deeds shall be judged by their intentions". Whatever a person intends this is what he shall have the reward (or punishment) for. If a person commits a sin and knows it is a sin and does not say it is O.K. or does not try to justify it, then he is committing a sin. But we can't say we know why he is committing the sin. Perhaps he hates what he is doing but is weak or intimidated by others or an evil Shayton has manipulated him in some way.

No matter how bad his actions, they are sins. He is being disobedient and he needs to repent and then he can be forgiven by Allah.

But if a person says that anything which is established to be a sin by the shar'ah (Islamic Law) is not a sin or that it is O.K. or if he tries in some deviant way to justify it, then this is 'kufr in belief' and can definitely land him and his followers in the Fire if they do not correct their belief and make serious repentance to Allah.

In fact any new act of worship (bid'ah) or innovation in practices of worship are considered just as bad and we should all be on the look out for any of these most dangerous acts. Another saying from the prophet, peace be upon him, means more or less;

In conclusion, I ask that all of us consider what our brother has stated and take it most seriously. He is right in warning all of us about people introducing this perversion as something O.K. in Islam. We should be aware, especially when considering putting our children in public schools and day care centers where these types of people can work and come in contact with them without anyone being able to say a word.

Please pray for all of us to be on the Straight Path of Allah. May He not make me a trial to others and May He Guide us all to better understand our deen. Ameen.

Jazakalahu Khayran wa Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatulahi wa Barakatahu.

Your brother in Islam,
Yusuf