1.

Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance

of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society"
Table of contents:

(1) Introduction.................................................................................................................................................
(2) Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle & Kecia Ali.......................................................................................................
(3) Muhsin Hendricks - An imam or a charlatan?..........................................................................................

(4) Quran & Interpretation................................................................................................................................

(5) The Science of Hadith.................................................................................................................................
(6) Problematic Terminology...........................................................................................................................

(7) Response to “No prohibition of same-sex marriages in the Quran”.....................................................

(8) Response To Muhsin’s Ignorance on Hadiths.........................................................................................

(9) Response to “Verses of the Quran making the Prophet (pbuh) uncomfortable”.................................
(10) Response to wife beating verse in the Quran........................................................................................
(11) Response to Muhsin Hendricks’s questions..........................................................................................

(12) Response to “Parable of Lut (pbuh) not being a valid reason of condemnation
against homosexuality in Islam”.....................................................................................................................
(13) Response to Muhsin’s inaccurate analysis of Quran 24:31.................................................................
(14) Response: goat eating hadith..................................................................................................................

(15) No threat to humanity?.............................................................................................................................

(16) Capital punishment...................................................................................................................................
(17) Al Tabarani hadith on lesbianism............................................................................................................

(18) Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................
References........................................................................................................................................................
Narrators Mentioned........................................................................................................................................

Around 3000 words (chapters):

Reader’s discretion is advised,
in this response I discuss
2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 13, 14, 18
sensible topics which may
disturb some people. However if
- Background on the author + his
you feel like you can handle this
religious authority (the
or you have an open mind, feel
author’s).
free to read all of this and
respond to it!
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
- Basic concepts, and ideas the
author misunderstood, being
explained.
- My strongest arguments against
his claims (Proves he is 1) liar 2)
unreliable 3) ignorant).
3054 words (including everything)
(1) Introduction
‫ِبْس ِم ِهللا الَّر ْح ٰم ِن الَّر ِحْي ِم‬
All thanks and praise is due to Allah (swt),
The most high and most merciful. I bear
witness that there is no God worthy of
worship other than him, and that
Mohammed (pbuh) is his messenger and
servant - I hope my writing helps people
understand the religion more and I seek
forgiveness for any mistakes from God.
This whole article claiming to be an
“Islamic Text” and a “Source of
Acceptance” of homosexuality, is arguably
a desperate attempt to defend
homosexuality from an islamic
perspective. The islamic stance on
homosexuality is clear; the act of
homosexuality is forbidden (haram) and
people who feel attracted to the same sex
are not sinners, as the feeling itself in
Islam is not condemned but it’s the act
(penetration). There is so much evidence
on this topic that if I were to compile a
2
fraction of the evidence it would take me a
whole book filled with quotes, hadiths and
verses from the holy Quran.
The purpose of this article is to defend
Islam from these blasphemous claims and
false narratives; as well as to provide
answers to some of the questions that may
arise reading the article I'm refuting.
I will give 5 examples from the Quran, 5
from the hadith and 5 from the biggest
scholars to have ever contributed to the
enhancement of the islamic sciences, on
how homosexuality / LGBTQ+ are not
concepts promoted by islam like Muhsin
Hendricks, the writer of the article, is
trying to make us believe.
Here are 5 verses from the Quran clearly
going liberal/LGBTQ+ values:
[I]. “If two men among you are guilty of
lewdness, punish them both. If they repent
and amend, Leave them alone; for Allah is
Oft-returning, Most Merciful.” - Quran
4:16. (1)
[II]. “We also (sent) Lut: He said to his
people: "Do ye commit lewdness such as
no people in creation (ever) committed
before you? For ye practise your lusts on
men in preference to women: ye are indeed
a people transgressing beyond bounds.
And his people gave no answer but this:
they said, "Drive them out of your city:
these are indeed men who want to be clean
and pure!" But we saved him and his
family, except his wife: she was of those
who legged behind. And we rained down
on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
what was the end of those who indulged in
sin and crime!” - Quran 7:80-83. (2)
[III].”"Of all the creatures in the world,
will ye approach males, And leave those
whom Allah has created for you to be your
mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing
(all limits)!" They said: "If thou desist not,
O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!" He
said: "I do detest your doings. O my Lord!
deliver me and my family from such
things as they do!" So We delivered him
and his family,- all Except an old woman
who lingered behind. Then afterward We
destroyed the others. We rained down on
them a shower (of brimstone): and evil
was the shower on those who were
admonished (but heeded not)!” - Quran
26:165-173. (3)
[IV]. “(We also sent) Lut (as a
messenger): behold, He said to his people,
"Do ye do what is shameful though ye see
(its iniquity)? Would ye really approach
men in your lusts rather than women? Nay,
ye are a people (grossly) ignorant! But his
people gave no other answer but this: they
said, "Drive out the followers of Lut from
your city: these are indeed men who want
to be clean and pure!" Then We saved him
and his household save his wife; We
destined her to be of those who stayed
behind. And We rained down on them a
shower (of brimstone): and evil was the
shower on those who were admonished
(but heeded not)!” - Quran 27:54-58.(4)
[V]. ”And (remember) Lut: behold, he said
to his people: "Ye do commit lewdness,
such as no people in Creation (ever)
committed before you. "Do ye indeed
3
approach men, and cut off the highway?-
and practice wickedness (even) in your
councils?" But his people gave no answer
but this: they said: "Bring us the Wrath of
Allah if thou tellest the truth." He said: "O
my Lord! help Thou me against people
who do mischief!" When Our Messengers
came to Abraham with the good news,
they said: "We are indeed going to destroy
the people of this township: for truly they
are (addicted to) crime."” - Quran 29:28-
31.(5)
These are all from the Quran; I guess in
verse (IV) it says “Would ye really
approach men in your lusts rather than
women?” is enough to destroy the whole
“Lut (pbuh) parable is not a condemnation
of homosexuality”. Just alluding to the act
of homosexuality not being a sin, is major
shirk, simply because (I) you are
changing the law of God - which with any
interpretation you want, create or design
won’t change the fact that in Islam it’s a
sin (II) Thus you are creating your own
teachings/beliefs which go against the
religion and you are propagating it to be
from God (You are attributing yourself an
attribute only God can have) (III) Finally
you are giving yourself the attribute of
divine law making / which is something
God can only do (Al Hakam - The
Impartial Judge) - Thus challenging God.
However the parable of Lut (pbuh) is
something I'm going to address later in this
refutation.
Here are 5 unequivocally authentic hadiths
to prove this:
[I]. “Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Prophet
cursed effeminate men; those men who are
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"

4
in the similitude (assume the manners of In hadith (IV) which is sahih (authentic) it
women) and those women who assume the says “Whomever you find doing the
manners of men, and he said, "Turn them actions of the people of Lut then kill the
out of your houses." The Prophet turned one doing it, and the one it is done to”, if
out such-and-such man, and 'Umar turned what these progressive “muslims” are
out such-and-such woman.” - Sahih saying, that rape and sexual exploitation
Bukhari 5886. (6) was the true sin of the people of Lut
(pbuh), then let’s say that this was the
[II]. “Narrated by Ibn Abbas that Allah’s case, why then is the hadith saying to kill
Messenger (pbuh) cursed those men who the perpetrator (rapist) and the victim (the
are in the similitude (assume the manners) one being raped / exploited). It is a clear
of women and those women who are in the contradiction to what progressive
similitude (assume the manners) of men” - “muslim” believe in, it makes more sense
Sahih Bukhari 5885 (7) if the sin in question was consensual same-
sex intercourse.
[III]. “Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: The
Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man
should not look at the private parts of
another man, and a woman should not look
at the private parts of another woman. A
man should not lie with another man
without wearing a lower garment under
one cover; and a woman should not lie
with another woman without wearing a
lower garment under one cover.” - Sunan
Abu Dawud 4018. (8)

[IV]. “Narrated Ibn Abbas: That the

Messenger of Allah said: "Whomever you
find doing the actions of the people of Lut
then kill the one doing it, and the one it is
done to." ” - Tirmidhi 1456. (9)

[V]. “It was narrated from Abu Hurairah

that the Prophet said concerning those who
do the action of the people of Lut: Stone
the upper and the lower, stone them both.”
(Hasan) (Extracts from "Islamic Texts: A Source
” - Sunan Ibn Majah 2562. (10) for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin
Hendricks (11)
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
The text desperately attempts to reply to
these hadith by attacking the integrity of
the science of hadith which I'm going to
address later on.
Moving on, here are what some of the
most important scholars of Islam have to
say about this. I will give the word of 5
scholars. Additionally I challenge Muhsin
or anyone to bring forward 5 scholars of
the highest level and eloquence that
supported his claims.
[I]. Al Jalalayn “And when two of you
men, commit it, that is, a lewd act,
adultery or homosexual intercourse,
punish them both, with insults and
beatings with sandals; but if they repent, of
this [lewd act], and make amends, through
[good] action, then leave them be, and do
not harm them. God ever turns [relenting],
to those who repent, and is Merciful, to
them.”This [verse] is abrogated by the
prescribed punishment if adultery is meant
[by the lewd act], and similarly if
homosexual intercourse is meant,
according to al-Shāfi‘ī; but according to
him, the person who is the object of the
[penetrative] act is not stoned, even if he
be married; rather, he is flogged and
banished. Judging by the dual person
pronoun, it seems more obvious that
homosexual fornication is meant [by this
verse], even though the former [sc. al-
Shāfi‘ī] was of the opinion that it referred
to an adulterer and an adulteress; but this
[opinion of his] may be countered by the
fact that [the reference to] the two [men]
becomes clear on account of the particle
min being attached to a masculine pronoun
5
[minkum, ‘of you’], and by the fact that
they suffer the same punishment, [both
effect the action of] repentance and [are
both granted] that they be left alone
[thereafter], [all of] which applies
specifically to men, given that for women
detention is stipulated, as was stated
before.” (12)
[II]. Ibn Kathir “[‫]َو الَّلَذ اَن َيْأِتَيـِنَها ِم نُك ْم َفَـاُذ وُهَم ا‬
(And the two persons among you who
commit illegal sexual intercourse, punish
them both. [Qur'an 4:16])(13) Ibn `Abbas
and Sa`id bin Jubayr said that this
punishment includes cursing, shaming
them and beating them with sandals. This
was the ruling until Allah abrogated it with
flogging or stoning, as we stated. Mujahid
said, "It was revealed about the case of
two men who do it." As if he was referring
to the actions of the people of Lut, and
Allah knows best. The collectors of Sunan
recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that the
Messenger of Allah said, « ‫َم ْن َر َأْيُتُم وُه َيْع َم ُل‬
‫ َفاْقُتُلوا اْلَفاِع َل َو اْلَم ْفُعوَل ِبه‬، ‫»َع َم َل َقْو ِم ُلوٍط‬
(Whoever you catch committing the act of
the people of Lut (homosexuality), then
kill both parties to the act.)”(14)
[III]. Ibn Al Qayyim “Both of them –
fornication and homosexuality – involve
immorality that goes against the wisdom
of Allah's creation and commandment. For
homosexuality involves innumerable evil
and harms, and the one to whom it is done
would be better off being killed than
having this done to him, because after that
he will become so evil and so corrupt that
there can be no hope of his being
reformed, and all good is lost for him, and
he will no longer feel any shame before
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
Allaah or before His creation. The semen
of the one who did that to him will act as a
poison on his body and soul. The scholars
differed as to whether the one to whom it
is done will ever enter Paradise. There are
two opinions which I heard Shaykh al-
Islam (may Allah have mercy on him)
narrate.”(15)
[IV]. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: “With
regard to homosexuality, some of the
scholars said that the punishment for it is
the same as the punishment for zina, and it
was said that it is less than that. But the
correct view on which the Companions
were unanimously agreed is that both are
to be killed, the active and the passive
partners, whether they are married or not.
(16)
[V]. Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy
on him) was of the opinion that Hadd
punishment should be given unless, one
was coerced into sodomization, or is
insane or has not yet reached the age of
puberty - He also specifies that there is no
difference of opinion between scholars in
this matter. (17)
To still argue that Islam is a feminist, anti-
patriarchal, LGBTQ+ promoting religion
is delusionary, it’s denying evidence in
front of your eyes. Even if God were to
appear before them and tell them so, they
would still not believe. This is just the tip
of the iceberg of the colossal amount of
evidence that is out in islamic texts. To
deny this evidence and still saying that
there is a lack of information is basically
committing apostasy because it’s basically
saying “Islam is not a complete way of
6
life” and thus you are saying that God
almighty did not provide humans with the
proper guide, which is basically
challenging his name/attribute of Al-Haadi
(The Guide).
I will touch upon muslims attitude towards
homosexuality, LGBTQ+ and etc… in
contemporary western society in the
conclusion, to avoid confusion with the
actual purpose of this article.
Additionally i have included Ibn
Qudamah’s opinion for those who have the
question of what happens in case of rape
or the person sodomized is too young. One
can explore this in more depth in his works
as well as the works of Imam Abu Hanifa
and ect…
(2) Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle
& Kecia Ali
In any respectable academic and religious
text a reader would expect to have a great
number of respectable and widely accepted
scholars in its content, however in this so-
called “Islamic Text” by Muhsin
Hendricks only 16 names were mentioned
in the references, and not all of them are
muslims or even scholars. Out of these 16
names only 3 names are mentioned in the
text itself, 2 of which are in support of
Hendricks’s argument and 1 who
ironically disproves his argument. In this
chapter I will touch upon the two
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
“scholars” mentioned by Hendrick’s; Scott
Sriaj Al-Haqq Kugle and Kecia Ali (I will
dedicate a different chapter to Al Tabarani
who is the other scholar she mentioned).
Both Kugle and Kecia studied Islam in
western universities (Both University of
Duke); it should automatically rule out the
possibility of them being called scholars.
To be and islamic scholar, a scholar of the
sciences of the hadiths, quran, islamic
history and tafsir takes a person many
years if not many decades, and definitely
not from a secular education, you can only
call yourself a true muslim scholar if you
had another muslim scholar teaching you,
not a secular system, it is like going to a
mormon church to learn about hinduism.
The terms 'aalim (scholar), “faqeeh”, and
“mujtahid” have the same meaning, which
refers to someone who strives to reach a
shar‘i ruling and has the ability to derive
such rulings from evidence. To be
described as any of these, one must meet
the prerequisites of ijtihaad, which
requires acquiring certain tools. The
scholars emphasise these prerequisites to
prevent anyone from speaking about
Allah's religion without knowledge. A
report will be used to demonstrate these
prerequisites. This is a report summarised
in five points by al-Shawkaani(18), lists the
prerequisites as follows:
[I]. Knowledge of the texts of the Quran
and Sunnah, which includes the ability to
find reports and distinguish between what
is sahih and daeef.
7
[II]. Knowledge of issues of consensus
(ijmaa‘).
[III]. Proficiency in the Arabic language,
including the ability to understand its
structure and meanings.
[IV]. Knowledge of usool al-fiqh (basic
principles of Islamic jurisprudence),
including analogy (qiyaas), which is the
foundation for deriving rulings.
[V]. Knowledge of what abrogates and
what is abrogated (al-naasikh wa’l-
mansookh).
(Similar report by Shaykh Muhammed ibn
Uthmaymeen (may God have mercy on
him))(19)
Firstly by prerequisite [I] and [III] we can
rule both Kecia and Kugle out of the fold
of scholarship in Islam. This is because of
their incorrect interpretation of the story of
Lut (pbuh) in the Quran (I’m going to go
in depth on this later on). By saying that
the sin of the people of Lut (pbuh) is not
the act of homosexuality but rather sexual
exploitation/rape is basically being unjust
to victims of rape (as i explained in the
introduction).
Prerequisite [II] is about ijmaa, so the
universal consensus in the muslim world.
The ijmaa on homosexuality is clear and
again I explained in the introduction.
Rejecting the punishment of rajm (topic
i'm going to talk about later on) and other
islamic punishments and how they are
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"
derived is failure to meet, prerequisite
[IV].
And the misuse of the hadith of Aisha (ra)
and the goat eating the verse on rajm is a
clear sign that these two “scholars” lack
prerequisites [I], [III] and [V] (See
Chapter).
In conclusion, these two people who
Muhsin mentioned are nothing but
imposters and not scholars; calling them
scholars is being willfully blind and
delusional. The extent that these two
frauds would go to prove their points is
laughable, any muslim with basic islamic
understanding would be able to refute
them.
Refuting this article on “Muslim
acceptance of LGBTQ+” is also refuting
the work of Kecia and Kugle so there is no
use in looking through their work as much
in detail.
(3) Muhsin Hendricks - An
imam or a charlatan?
Unlike Kugle and Kecia, Muhsin is the
only person with an eastern islamic
education. Although he cannot be
considered a scholar because he is rejected
by everyone and does not fit the
prerequisites to be a scholar, as I'm going
to show in this article by refuting him.
8
The problem with him and the two other
scholars he mentioned, they are literally
the only “scholars” he can gather to
support his cause, Since the Quran was
revealed 1400 years ago and since then
there were thousands if not hundreds of
thousands of scholars that existed; it’s two
‘scholars’ against hundreds of thousands
of real islamic scholars through the world.
Furthermore, his claims made through the
article all go against what the biggest
scholars of Islam have to say, like Ibn
Kathir, Ibn Al Qayyim and Al Jalalayn.
Thus anything he concludes or says cannot
be considered as valid or islamic.
(4) Quran & Interpretation
Firstly, in Islam there is something called
Ijmaa (Infallible universal consensus in
Islam), going against them is basically
committing apostasy and there are 3 main
types of Ijmaa.
[I]. Ijma al-ummah - a whole community
consensus.
[II]. Ijma al-aimmah - a consensus by
religious authority.
In chapter (2) and (3) I explained how the
article doesn’t have a valid religious
authority, so we can rule out the
compatibility of the article from [II]
Furthermore he himself agreed that his
view comes from the minority (liberal
muslims) of the minority (liberal muslims
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society"

who actually believe the act of
homosexuality is not a sin at all). And he
cannot realistically deny it, and uses this to
justify the re-interpretation of the Quran,
to his desires.
9
take, because (a) he is not qualified (b)
what he wants to interpret the Quran to,
breaks all Ijmas.
(5) The Science of Hadith
Hadith were an oral tradition, which were
compiled later in the 8th and 9th century
during the Rashidun Caliphate.

Muhsin’s comments on hadith were

derogatory and uneducated, talking about
how they are an inaccurate source of
knowledge

Ironically he uses hadith to prove his

points, when he says:

By saying that “the doors of ijtihad have

been closed” he is referring to a false
argument. Firstly:

Which “Sunni authorities”? No scholar has

been mentioned.
Secondly, The International Journal of
Academic Research in Business & Social
Sciences published an analysis for the
claim that the Doors of Ijtihad have been
closed - and these are their findings. (20)

However this does not justify the

progressive interpretation Muhsin wants to
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Muslim Society"

10
(21)

It has to be noted that he used them in the

wrong manner and got a wrong narrative
Patriarchy: By no means Islam promotes
out of it
feminism or does not promote the
patriarchy. (Shaykh Muhammad Al
Some hadith may contain mistakes or
Hassan weld Al-Didu in an interview with
inaccuracy unlike the Quran, however this
OnePathNetwork).
does not mean they are an invalid,
problematic source of knowledge; it is
Muhsin goes on to allude to how
only problematic when people like him use
everything revolved around the patriarchy
it to create false narratives. Furthermore
and how Islam is a feminist religion.
the science of hadith is one of the most
respected os sciences and lot’s of scholarly
work has been done on it. In addition to Effeminate men: This term has been used
this, there is something called “sanad” 5 times, and once in relation to the
which means chain of narration which is a following verse in Surah Nur.
very accurate way to determine the grade
of hadith (which Muhsin completely fails
to mention).

(6) Problematic Terminology

Orthodox muslim: He used this term 10
times in his article and by that he would
refer to “mainstream” Islam, or the Islam
that is against what he believes in.

Portraying everything that is not what you

believe in as orthodox, to suggest that
what you believe in is outdated or “strict”
is a clear example of bigotry.
His interpretation is flawed and inaccurate
Zina: Furthermore, in the references he (Chapter 14 for full analysis)
basically defined zina as something only
for orthodox muslim. This is basically him According to Tafsir Ibn Kathir in the
justifying one of the biggest major sins in verse:
Islam and I’m not even going to talk about
it as it would require me a whole new
essay on how zina is a major sin - and how
Muhsin is knowingly going against the These men are hermaphrodites which he
ijma of scholars and the community. makes no mention of. (22)
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Muslim Society"

11
"O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord
Who created you from a single soul, and
from it He created its mate, and through
(7) Response to “No both He spread countless men and women.
prohibition of same-sex And be mindful of Allah—in Whose name
marriages in the Quran” you demand (your rights) from one
To further prove my point on how (a) another—and family ties. Surely Allah is
Muhsin is out of the fold of islam (b) What ever Watchful over you." (Surah An-Nisa,
he says is kufr (disbelief) (c) What he says 4:1) (23)
goes against the principles of Islam (d) He
is an ignorant and desperate man who tries This verse suggests how the family is a
to change Islamic narrative to be fit into unit and how important it is to society -
his perverted narrative (See Conclusion); i like bricks in a house. The bond between
will dedicate these next chapters into the male and female is sacred and not to be
debunking his main arguments. transgressed upon.

Firstly if a person believes in most if not [II] The union between the sexes: In the
all of his arguments, he committed kufr Quran, Allah (swt) reminds us that
(disbelief). To claim homosexuality is not mankind is made in pairs to precreate and
a sin in Islam is kufr-al-akbar which is find peace in each other.
major disbelief, to still deny evidence is
‫ِن َّذ‬
kufr-ul-inad (disbelief of stubborness) and ‫َو َأَّنُهۥ َخ َلَق ٱلَّز ْوَج ْي ٱل َك َر َو ٱْل ُأنَثٰى‬
to change the haram into halal is kufr-ul-
istihal (disbelief of changing haram into “And He created the pairs - male and
halal). I could continue and never stop if I female” - (Surah Najm 53:45) (24)
were to list the problems in what he is
saying. Furthermore, in another verse God says:

Coming to his point that there is no

‫ِف‬ ‫ِل‬ ‫ِذ‬
prohibition in the Quran on same-sex ‫ ِإَّل ا َعِئ َلٰٓى َأْزَٰو ِجِه ْم َأْو َم ا َم َلَكْت َأْيَم ٰـُنُهْم َف ِإَّنُهْم َغ ْيُر‬. ‫َو ٱَّل ِميَن ُهْم ُف ُر وِجِه ْم َح ٰـ ُظ ِلوَن‬
‫و‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ْل‬‫ٱ‬ ‫ٰٓـ‬ ‫َفُأ‬ ‫َٰذ‬
‫َم ُلو َن َم ْبَتَغ ٰى َو َر َء َك ۟و َل َك ُهُم َع ُد َن‬
‫ٓا‬ ‫ٱ‬ ‫ِن‬ ‫َف‬ . ‫ي‬
marriages there are three points I need to
touch on. "those who guard their chastity. except
with their wives or their (bond women) in
[I] The Islamic stance on family: The their possession, for then they are free
Quran tells us: from blame, but whoever seeks beyond
that are the transgressors." - (Surah Al-
‫َيٰٓـ َأُّيَه ا ٱلَّناُس ٱَّتُق و۟ا َرَّبُكُم ٱَّلِذ ى َخَلَقُكم ِّمن َّنْف ٍس َٰو ِحَد ٍة َو َخ َلَق ِمْنَه ا‬
Mu’minun, 23:5-7) (25)
‫َزْوَجَه ا َوَبَّث ِمْنُهَم ا ِرَج اًل ا َكِثيًرا َو ِنَس ٓاًءۚ َو ٱَّتُق و۟ا ٱلَّلَه ٱَّلِذ ى َتَس ٓاَءُلوَن ِبِه ۦ‬
‫َو ٱْل َأْرَح اَم ۚ ِإَّن ٱلَّلَه َكاَن َع َلْيُكْم َرِقيًبا‬
This verse warns that any sexual
relationship outside of the prescribed
heterosexual one with your wife is a
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transgression - thus fornication, adultery,
same-sex marriages are all sinful
according to the Quran.
[III] Muhsin’s ignorance: This is an
extract from his article:
(26)
I explained how there is a prohibition of
same-sex marriage or relationship in the
points above, so we can skip this part, and
we can move on to where he shows how
willfully blind he is. He justifies his
argument by saying that Quranic verses
can be interpreted to fit his narrative.
First and foremost, who is he? To interpret
the Quran, what authority does he have,
what kind of knowledge does he have,
what kind of a muslim is he? Until now,
all of the points that he has written has
been completely proven to be false - The
previous chapters of this article focused on
breaking down these questions and show
how he is definitely not fit for the blessed
role.
12
Second of all, with what audacity is he
obscuring the work of thousands of
scholars across the globe who contributed
for millennials; and he still has the
recklessness, impudence and
discourteousness to say that there is a lack
of literature in an aspect of Islam or to
even suggest that an insolent novice like
him is capable to interpret the mighty book
of God.
In conclusion, his arguments are an
example of a fanatical attachment to his
desires, to justify his desires by distorting
the word of God and by disrespecting the
work of scholars.
(8) Response To Muhsin’s
Ignorance on Hadiths
A sunni muslim believes that the hadiths
are the saying of the prophet (pbuh) and
those who follow ahlus sunnah wal
jama’a know that hadith is the second
highest source of knowledge in Islam after
the holy Quran.
The hadiths convey a great insight into the
life of the prophet (pbuh) and how he dealt
with problems and the problems
surrounding him on a daily basis.
Not only that, muslims recognize hadiths
as tools to understand the Quran deeper
and to help the believer not stray from his
religion.
This brings me to why some people reject
the authenticity of some hadiths. Some
scholars can argue whether a hadith is
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fabricated or is not fully authentic and this
is judged by many factors, for instance: the
narrator's character, the narrators
reputation, if there are any other opposing
narrations, whether there is a correct chain
of narration…
But the main reason why muslims believe
in the authenticity of a hadith is because of
something called sanad or chain of
narration, also based on many factors
hadith are given a grade, sahih being the
highest meaning sound.
For example, If Bob said: “I never eat fried
chicken” and Bob’s mother, Jacob and
Sarah all hear that, then Bob’s mother tells
her friend Maria who tells her son, Joseph;
Jacob tells his cousin who tells her
daughter (Sophie); and Sarah who tells her
teacher (Richard) about Bob’s statement.
We can represent this chain of people in a
diagram like this:
BO
BOB’s Jac Sar
Mar Jacob’s Rich
Jos Sop
Now let’s assume that the following
people say the following in this particular
scenario:
Joseph says: “I heard from my mother
(Maria) who heard from Bob’s mother that
Bob said that he never eats fried chicken”
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Sophie says: “I heard from my father who
heard from his cousin Jacob that Bob said
that he never eats fried beef”
Richard says: “I heard from Sarah who
heard from Bob who said that he never
eats chicken”
Now a person from outside would
logically assume that Richard and Joseph
are correct and Sophie is wrong because
it’s two statements who say the same thing
against one who differs.
Furthermore let’s establish new parameters
in the scenario that:
- It’s 2023
[I] Bob is 15 years old
[II] Maria is 20 years old
[III] Joseph is 17 years old
[IV] Richard is 2 years old
[V] The statement was narrated in 2020
Now if Joseph, Sophie and Richard say the
exact same thing - a logical person would
not likely not trust the outcome of what is
being reported.
[I] Joseph reports that Bob never eats fried
chicken but, he is 17 years old and his
mother 20 years old, only 3 years of
difference making it an incompatible and
impossible relationship, thus the validity
of this ramification of the chain is
dismissed.
[II] Sophie reports that Bob never eats
fried chicken but the other two
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ramifications of the chain go against what
she reports thus what she says is
dismissed.

[III] Richard reports the same thing as

Joseph but, the statement was made in
2020 and Richard is currently only 2 years
old as of 2023, meaning when he wasn’t
even born when Bob made his statement.

A person may argue that in this case

Sophie is the correct one because she is the
only person with a contingent and logical (27)
chain, however can the narration that has
only one logical chain be deemed as But let’s look at one his arguments:
perfectly authentic?

The science of a hadith is a really

interesting one, this is just a silly way to
explain how scholars analyse the
authenticity the of the saying of the
prophet (pbuh).

Muhsin and people who he follows or

follow him like to put forward the notion
that if the hadith are a non-reliable source
of authority and thus if they go against
what they believe in, they can dismiss the
argument as “invalid”. However it’s ironic
how uses hadith to attempt to prove some
of his futile points later down the article.

Throughout his entire article he is

outrageously inconsistent with his claims
proven here. - I will address this claim of
his in chapter 13
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Now here are what my problems with such
He is so quick to dismiss hundreds of statements are:
hadiths going against his liberal views, but
at the same time misuses some hadiths to [I] It’s insulting the prophet (pbuh), by
fit his narrative - Furthermore the hadith suggesting that he is not aligned with the
he is referring is Sahih al Bukhari 6829 feelings transmitted through the revelation
which despite being graded as hasan some of God. Insulting the prophet (pbuh) is
scholars still argue it’s invalidity through basically rejecting the message of Islam, as
pointing out some problems with the He is the leader of all children of Adam
sanad. (See Chapter 14) and a mercy to mankind.

The Quran says: ﴾۱۰۷﴿ َ‫َوَم ا َأْرَس ْلَناَك ِإَّل ا َرْح َم ًة ِلْلَع اَلِمين‬

١١٢ ‫َوَم ن َيْكِس ْب َخ ِط ٓي َٔـًة َأْو ِإْثًۭما ُثَّم َيْر ِم ِبِه ۦ َب ٓيِر أًۭـ َف َق ِد ٱْح َتَم َل ُبْه َتٰـًۭنا َو ِإْثًۭما ُّم ِبيًۭنا‬
“(Muhammed), We have sent you for no
other reason but except to be a mercy to
“And whoever commits an evil or sinful mankind (Quran 24:107) ”
deed then blames it on an innocent person,
they will definitely bear the guilt of [II] It’s insulting the wahi (revelation) by
slander and blatant sin.” (29) suggesting that its content is not adapted or
it contains problems - This is a great
The Quran is very vocal against slander problem as this is one of the greatest forms
and false claims - If Muhsin truly is a of kufr a person can commit.
muslim he should be aware of such verses,
and he should take advice from them, and ٢ ‫َٰذ ِلَك ٱْلِكَتٰـُب َل ا َرْيَب ۛ ِفيِه ۛ ُه ًۭد ى ِّلْلُم َّتِقيَن‬
repent.
“This is the Book! There is no doubt about
(9) Response to “Verses of it - a guide for those mindful of Allah
the Quran making the (Quran 2:2) ” (31)
Prophet (pbuh)
[III] The audience this is presented to is
uncomfortable”
mostly western, people who are trying to
Muhsin Hendricks once again proved to be learn about Islam. Meaning that they are
a charlatan who cannot prove his own coming across a paper that supposedly is
claims. islamic, but in reality is soaked in a bath of
blasphemy, slander and injustice.

Furthermore, Islam in the west is a very

delicate topic and texts like this can
(30) increase a person’s doubt on the religion,
thus straying them far from the right path.
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[IV] The prophet (pbuh) is a human - not
an angel nor a God. It is in human nature
to feel emotions, and who are we to judge
someone’s emotions? Emotions can be
argued to be uncontrollable to an extent,
but Muhammed (pbuh) is the greatest of
man to ever step foot on this planet and he
will remain the greatest man to ever have
stepped foot on this planet.
There are many other problems with this
vulgar statement of his such as the blatant,
ignorant misinterpretation of the verse of
“beating” your wife.
. “Pure (from every fault) is the One who
(32)
(10) Response to wife
beating verse in the Quran
Imam as-Shafi says in his book kitab al
Umm (5/203): (33)
“A man cannot hit his wife, or cause her
any harm and he has to treat her fairly as
this is her right. He (Imam Al Shafi’i) also
said: Likewise, if he has only one wife or
an additional concubine with whom he has
intercourse, he is commanded to fear Allah
Almighty and to not harm her in regards to
intercourse, although nothing specific is
obligated upon him. He is only obligated
to provide what benefits her such as
financial maintenance, residence, clothing,
and spending the night with her. As for
16
intercourse, its position is one of pleasure
and no one can be forced into it”
Not only this is a clear-cut condemnation
of abusive behaviour is is also a
condemnation of rape and sexual
misconduct with one’s partner/partners.
Imam as-Shafi’s statement is backed by
numerous verses in the quran and hadith:
‫ُسبحاَن اَّلذي َخ َلَق اَألزواَج ُك َّلها ِمّم ا ُتنِبُت اَألرُض َوِم ن‬
‫َأنُفِس ِهم َوِمّم ا ال َيعَلموَن‬
has created all the pairs of whatever the
earth grows and of the humans themselves
and of that which they do not know.”
(Quran 36:36) (34)
God almighty calls men and women
“pairs” because they complete each other,
and it is pretentious to say that men are
“better” than women if they require each
other.
There are thousands of verses and hadith
that talk about the importance of women
and the importance of roles women take
such as the highly respectable role of a
mother to nurture it’s child - there even are
narrations saying that “Paradise is beneath
your mother’s feet” as well as your mother
being three times the most loved person in
a person's life.
Now I need to address the verse Muhsin is
referring to, which he fails to mention:
‫ٱلِّرَج اُل َق َّٰو ُم وَن َع َلى ٱلِّنَس ٓاِء ِبَم ا َف َّض َل ٱلَّلُه َبْع َض ُهْم َع َلٰى َبْع ٍۢض َو ِبَم ٓا َأنَف ُق و۟ا‬
‫ِمْن َأْم َٰو ِلِه ْم ۚ َفٱلَّص ٰـِلَح ٰـُت َق ٰـِنَتٰـٌت َح ٰـِفَظ ٰـٌۭت ِّلْلَغ ْيِب ِبَم ا َح ِفَظ ٱلَّلُهۚ َو ٱَّلٰـِتى‬
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‫َتَخ اُفوَن ُنُش وَزُه َّن َف ِعُظ وُه َّن َو ٱْه ُج ُروُه َّن ِفى ٱْلَم َض اِجِع َو ٱْض ِرُبوُه َّن ۖ َف ِإْن‬
٣٤ ‫َأَط ْعَنُكْم َف َل ا َتْبُغ و۟ا َع َلْيِه َّن َس ِبيًل اۗ ِإَّن ٱلَّلَه َكاَن َع ِلًّۭيا َكِبيًۭرا‬ [III] Gently strike them
“Men are the caretakers of women, as men
have been provisioned by Allah over Now i would like to give a realistic
women and tasked with supporting them scenario, for a non-muslim audience.
financially. And righteous women are
devoutly obedient and, when alone, A husband should never touch
protective of what Allah has entrusted nonconsensually his wife - this is
them with.1 And if you sense ill-conduct something obvious. Now let’s assume your
from your women, advise them ˹first˺, ˹if wife decides to abuse your child. Would it
they persist,˺ do not share their beds, ˹but be right for you to physically step in? Well
if they still persist,˺ then discipline them obviously yes, without intentionally
gently. But if they change their ways, do hurting your wife, you would try to avoid
not be unjust to them. Surely Allah is Most harm to your child.
High, All-Great.”(35)
If you are of this view then you have
Other translations instead of “then agreed with the Quran if you are not and
discipline them gently” say to “lightly beat decide to let your wife continue to abuse
them” - The verse he is referring to your child despite advising and forsaking
describes how a husband should respond not being methods that work, then it’s you
to a quarrel/delinquency with his wife. the problem.

Muhsin is quick to ignore the fact that the A feminist would argue that Islam would
verse does not mean that men are allowed still be misogynistic because it does not
to beat their wives whenever they feel like prescribe women the same physical ability
it, which is something that looks like he is to intervene as a man. To simply answer
suggesting. Furthermore he deliberately this question, we need to look at biology;
disregards the context of the verse and the average men is physically stronger
more importantly how the “beating” than the average woman, and if the
should only occur as a last resort. average men were to get into a physical
weaponless duel with the average women
This is how the verse prescribed men to there is a higher chance for the men to
deal with their wives ill-conduct: come out triumphant, meaning the average
women without external help is in a
[I] Advise them disadvantageous position compared to a
weaponless man, thus if the Quran were to
If they persist: prescribe women the same as men, it
would beg the question of why the Quran
[II] Do not share your bed with your wife would offer women a way to deal with
things which makes the average women
Still persists:
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start from a position of disadvantage, isn’t is a topic numerously mentioned; how to
that misogyny? And unfair to women? gain knowledge, how to use your wisdom
and how it helps to increase your ties with
The notion that men are physically God.
stronger than women is one that is useless
to argue about because it’s scientifically The prophet (pbuh) said:
proven and numerous researches have
been conducted such as Laubach 1976. (36) “Whoever takes a path upon which to
obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to
The Quran warns muslims that the wisdom Paradise easy for him” (Tirmidhi 2646) (37)
of God is limitless and that what is
stipulated to them is the best, thus to not [II] What answers will Islam present the
argue over it: question of gender, sexual diversity and
‫َو َل ا َتَتَم َّنْو ۟ا َم ا َف َّض َل ٱلَّلُه ِبِه ۦ َبْع َض ُكْم َع َلٰى َبْع ٍۢض ۚ ِّللِّرَج اِل َنِص يٌۭب ِّمَّم ا‬ choice of religion without diverting from
‫ِلِه‬ ‫ِم‬ ‫ِل ِّن ِء ِص ِّم‬
‫ٱْكَتَس ُبو۟اۖ َو ل َس ٓا َن يٌۭب َّم ا ٱْكَتَس ْبَن ۚ َوْس َٔـُلو۟ا ٱلَّلَه ن َف ْض ٓۦ ۗ ِإَّن ٱلَّلَه َكاَن‬ its constitution?
٣٢ ‫ِبُكِّل َش ْى ٍء َع ِليًۭما‬
Muhsin once again unconsciously shows
“And do not crave what Allah has given his ignorance. Let’s take a look at when he
some of you over others. Men will be says “without diverting from its
rewarded according to their deeds and constitution”; assuming the “constitution”
women ˹equally˺ according to theirs. he mentioned is the Quran and Sunnah,
Rather, ask Allah for His bounties. Surely and as i proved and going to prove he
Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all showed an incapability to successfully
things.” reconcile his desires with Islam by
twisting the quranic narrative - he
God also specifies that a Man is equal to a automatically admits that there are pre-set
woman when it comes to earning good answers to the question of gender, sexual
deeds. diversity and choice of religion.

(11) Response to Muhsin I will be brief on answering the question

because what islam prescribes on the
Hendricks’s questions
matters of gender, gender roles and
[I] How can Islam be instrumental in a sexuality is a lot.
technological advanced information era,
while there is resistance to transformation Islam sets clear gender roles to men and
on the part of its leadership? women, the only permissible and advised
sexual relationship in Islam is the
Firstly, where is the so-called resistance to heterosexual & in-marriage relationship.
transformation - and Muhsin should define
to his audience who this leadership is. When is comes to choice of religion the
Islam is the religion that encourages the Quran clearly states:
search for knowledge the most; knowledge
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‫ِت ِم‬ ‫ِم‬ ‫ِف ِّد‬
(12) Response to “Parable of
‫َل ٓا ِإْك َراَه ى ٱل يِن ۖ َقد َّتَبَّيَن ٱلُّرْش ُد َن ٱْلَغ ِّى ۚ َف َم ن َيْكُف ْر ِبٱلَّط ٰـُغ و َوُيْؤ ۢن‬ Lut (pbuh) not being a valid
‫ِبٱلَّلِه َف َق ِد ٱْس َتْم َس َك ِبٱْلُعْرَو ِة ٱْلُو ْثَق ٰى َل ا ٱنِفَص اَم َلَه اۗ َو ٱلَّلُه َس ِميٌع َع ِليٌم‬ reason of condemnation
٢٥٦
against homosexuality in
“Let there be no compulsion in religion, Islam”
for the truth stands out clearly from In the name of God the most
falsehood.1 So whoever renounces false compassionate and merciful, the one who
gods and believes in Allah has certainly is free from mistakes and free from
grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. imperfection, who sent thousands of
And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” prophets conveying the message of
(Quran 2:256) (38) tawheed (oneness of God), and one of
these noble prophets was Lot (pbuh).
The verse is explanatory - There is no
compulsion in religion because this life is Muhsin Hendricks brings forward a futile
a test where God wants to judge us to see argument to dispatch the notion that the
whether we are worthy for paradise or story of Lot is not a valid argument to
otherwise hell. condemn homosexuality in Islam.

[III] Are muslim re-enacting the past fears For the sake of argument, let’s assume the
and mistakes of the early Quraishi story of Lot (pbuh) does not reference
adversaries when they were confronted homoseuxality and that homosexuality is
with change? not mentioned in the Quran and there is no
condemnation of it in the hadith
This has to be Muhsin's most hysterical (supposedly) - This would not be a valid
take on this paper - I would personally ask argument for something to be permissible,
him “are you re-enacting the mistakes of this is because there are sins that don’t
sodom and gomorrah on homosexuality”? need to be referenced in a holy book for
someone to realise that it is probably not
Leaving this aside - the simple answer to good. Sin is something that generates harm
his question is no, there is a difference to you, or the people around you or to
between rejecting Muhammad (pbuh) and society, or all. For example, hacking
rejecting bidah (innovation) that goes someone’s social media account for
against what the prophets of Islam entertainment is a sin but it is not a sin that
preached. the Quran specifically ever talked about,
this does not make it permissible, because
One is rejecting the truth and the other is it is invading someone's privacy, it is
rejecting what people say is the truth, stealing someone's identity and it is
when it really is not. fraudulent behaviour - so this particular sin
is the result of other root sins, thus as it
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generates harm that serves no purpose or it
has no wisdom in it; it becomes a sin.

Similarly homosexuality in Islam is

immoral - one can say that the root sin of
homosexuality (penetration) is anal sex,
which something numerous hadith
explicitly talk about:

[I]. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased

with him) reported that the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “The one who has
intercourse with his wife in her back
passage has disavowed himself of that
which was revealed to Muhammad (peace (41)
and blessings of Allah be upon him).”
Narrated by Abu Dawud (3904); classed as [I] Young men were coerced into having
saheeh by al-Albani in Sahih Abu Dawud. sex with temple priests as part of their
(39) idolatrous rituals.

[II]. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “Allah will not look at a man
who has intercourse with a woman in her
back passage.” Narrated in Tirmidhi
(1165); classed as sahih by Ibn Daqiq
al-‘Eid in al-Ilmam (2/660) and by al-
Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi. (40)
So without even going into why
homosexuality is immoral in Islam I have
established that it is a sin for a man to
penetrate another man. Why Islam
considers homosexuality as sexual
immorality is for Chapter 15.
Now let’s take a look at his claims
regarding the parable of Lot (pbuh):
If a pre-pubescent girl were raped by an
adult male it does not mean that sex with a
pre-pubescant girl is morally permissible,
similarily if a man is being raped by
another man it is not a valid argument to
say that same-sex intercourse is morally
right.
It is also interesting to see how he
describes those men as being “patriarchal”
when it should be noted that something
male dominated does not necessarily mean
it is wrong. For example, the caliphate of
the righteously guided caliphs (Abu Bakr,
Umar ibn Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and
Ali ibn Talib (may God be pleased with all
of them)) was a government
predominantly composed of men, making
it patriarchal; does that mean according to
Muhsin their caliphate is “wrong”? Is
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Muhsin going against the sahaba
(companions of the prophet)? When it says “O my people, these are my
daughters” Lot (pbuh) wants those who
[II] Lot offered his daughters to adultery want to fornicate with their daughters to
to save the angels of God marry them and not commit fornication.
No prophet would allow their children to
commit such ugly act, the following
section of the verse “they are purer for
you” leaves no misunderstanding.

[III] No allusion to sexual orientation in

the story of Lot

(42)

Wallahi when i say this man does not

know what he is talking about, i'm not
exaggerating, first Lot (pbuh) “offering his
(44)
daughters” to save the angles from being
raped is the biblical narrative, not the This is a great mistake and it shows how
Quranic narrative - In addition to this, the ignorant Muhsin and the “scholars” he
biblical narrative goes on to say how Lot’s mentioned like Keica Ali and Scott Siraj
daughters drunked their father to then have Al Haqq are.
sexual intercourse with him, absolutely
disgusting. The Quran says:

The verse he is referring to is: ﴿ ‫ِاَّنُك ۡم َلـَتۡاُتۡوَن الِّرَج اَل َش ۡه َو ًة ِّمۡن ُد ۡو ِن الِّنَس ٓاِءؕ َبۡل َاۡنـُتۡم َق ۡو ٌم ُّم ۡس ِرُف ۡو َن‬
﴾7:81
‫َو َج ٓاَءُه ۥ َق ۡوُم ُهۥ ُيۡه َرُع وَن ِإَلۡيِه َو ِمن َق ۡبُل َكاُنوْا َيۡعَم ُلوَن ٱلَّس ِّيأَـِۚت َق اَل َٰيَق ۡو ِم‬
‫َه ٰٓـ ُؤَل ٓاِء َبَناِتي ُه َّن َأۡط َه ُر َلُكۖۡم َف ٱَّتُق وْا ٱلَّلَه َو َل ا ُتۡخ ُز وِن ِفي َض ۡيِفۖٓي َأَلۡيَس ِمنُكۡم‬ “You approach men lustfully in place of
‫د‬ٞ‫ل َّرِش ي‬ٞ ‫َرُج‬ women. You are a people who exceed all
bounds.” (Quran 7:81) (44)
“And his people came hastening to him,
and before [this] they had been doing evil This verse, unequivocally, unambiguously
deeds. He said, “O my people, these are condemns homosexuality - It’s explicit and
my daughters; they are purer for you. So concise in what it wants the reader to
fear Allah and do not disgrace me convey. This ayah (verse) alone is enough
concerning my guests. Is there not among to dismiss Muhsin’s whole premise.
you a man of reason?” (Quran 11:78)(43)
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[IV] Homosexuality is not the issue - it is
everything else!
(46)
Let’s say a group of people likes to steal,
kidnap, fight, vandalise and kill.
Now I say that this group of people
should/is being punished for: stealing,
kidnapping, fighting and vandalisation.
Does that make killing acceptable? It is
either that i failed to mention that they
should be punished also because they kill
or i don’t hold any moral value.
Similarly this is what Muhsin is trying to
say. He said a lot of nothing in this chapter
trying to prove something that is
nonsensical. Again Quran 7:81 would
apply to destroy Muhsin’s argument.
[V] To say that the parable of Lot is a
condemnation of homosexuality is
contradicting numerous verses in the
22
Quran which promote the idea of unity
with human diversity
(47)
This is like saying: “incest is not wrong
because it would contradict the Quran’s
many verses to human diversity and unity”
People like him, who dream to liberalise
Islam, often like to join concepts or topics
that have no connection - When does the
idea of unity and human diversity go
against something that is established to be
sinful in the religion?
A person who is mentally ill to the point
that the person becomes a murderer does
not mean that just because he is part of the
human diversity he should not be punished
for/receive mental assistance (e.g be sent
to a mental hospital for life).
In conclusion the story of Lot (pbuh) IS a
blanket condemnation of homosexuality in
Islam. To say otherwise is contradicting
the Quranic narrative and it goes against
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the idea of Islam protecting muslims from
sexual immorality.
(13) Response to Muhsin’s
inaccurate analysis of Quran
24:31
In the article’s 6th chapter “The
Recognition of Non-heterosexuals in the
Quran”, Muhsin brings forward a verse of
the Quran which talks about people who
are exempt from putting on their kihmar
(form of veil) on.
(48)
Now there are two things that need to be
mentioned to refute the notion that this
verse promoted anything beyond
heterosexuality .
[I] Recognition does not equal acceptance.
This is a basic concept, for instance the
oppressive Pharaoh was mentioned in the
Quran - Does that mean muslims should
accept him?
To develop my point, recognition is the
mechanism by which an individual's
23
existence as a social being is generated -
this is a definition of Georg Hegel, a
German christian theologian of the late
18th and early 19th century.
[II] Muhsin used a very dubious
translation, so I'm going to use another
translation from the best.
The bold section in Muhsin’s translation is
apparently the equivalent of this:
This is a wild attempt change the Quranic
narrative, i will summarise what tafsir
have to say:
Tafsir Ibn Kathir(49)
This section of the verse is referring to
male followers who are hired as servants
and who are not in the same level as the
women and have a feeble-mind and have
no desire in or for women.
He then quotes Ibn Abbas saying that
“This is the kind of person who has no
desire” And then he mentions the view of
the salaf which emerges from Ikrmiah’s
statement that these people are
hermaphrodites
Tafsir Ala Maududi(49)
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narration) and when we try to trace the
narration back this is what we should get:

Ai
A
Ya Al
Vers
Ab Abdurr
Malik Ib
To summarise this long section of tafsir - Hamma
What it basically tells us is that:
Vers Verse Vers
There is no reference to anything not The following diagram is to help illustrate
heterosexual. the isnad of the hadith.

Muhsin goes on to rant about the hijab -
but i don’t want to talk about it here
because this topic is already big enough,
but to be brief; The hijab is mandatory for
all believing women, it is not a journey
and a muslim woman and men has to
follow hijab rules weather in the west or
east, muslims don’t change when society
changes; we are a constant, when society
is mere variable of our social norms and
values.
(14) Response to the goat
eating hadith
This should be quite fun topic to refute:
We see how this is:
Malik bin Anas
Yahya ibn Saeed
Hammad bin Salema
Vs.
Ibn Ishaq
Malik and Yahya are even top narrators of
hadith, and this is why i reject the validity
of the hadith even a hasan grade is not
enough to prove the validity of the hadith.
It should also be noted how Muhsin
mistranslated the hadith - in many
translations it is “verses on stoning and
breastfeeding”. Regardless, this shows
how ignorant his paper is.

(15) No threat to humanity?

(50)
Firstly, the hadith may be authentic but
scholars reject it’s isnad (chain of
This article I'm writing is not going to
focus on why Islam believes that same-sex
intercourse is morally wrong, simply
because it is not going to be practical and
easy to write in a short time, also there are
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25
hundreds of books of literature that explain From a religious perspective one can argue
the reason behind this. that if God made a ruling, as God is all-
wise the ruling does not need to make
But the reason i even started this chapter is sense to us, although we can try to.
to comment on a concept and point out
Hendrick’s idiocy - so from the Quran This however does not change the fact that
there unequivocally unambiguous Muhsin’s claims have no theological basis
statements that condemn homosexuality as in Islam.
well as hadith, to the point an entire
civilisation was exterminated, how would
(16) Capital punishment
Muhsin reconcile with this and saying that
it is not a threat to humanity? Islam is not only a religion it is a complete
way of life, where humans are prescribed
The Quran says: rules and regulations, and to adhere to
them is coming close to God and to break
﴿ ‫ِاَّنُك ۡم َلـَتۡاُتۡوَن الِّرَج اَل َش ۡه َو ًة ِّمۡن ُد ۡو ِن الِّنَس ٓاِءؕ َبۡل َاۡنـُتۡم َق ۡو ٌم ُّم ۡس ِرُف ۡو َن‬ them is to distance yourself from God.
﴾7:81
Islam came to preserve 5 things:
“You approach men lustfully in place of
women. You are a people who exceed all Life: This is why actslike suicide &
bounds.” (Quran 7:81) (51) murder is haram
Wealth: This is why gambling and interest
This is what Muhsin has to say: is haram
Intellect: This is why drinking wine and
using intoxicants are not permissible
Religion: To preserve the religion of Islam
Lineage: This is why sexual immorality is
not allowed.

Hendricks claims that there is no evidence

of Islam enforcing capital punishment but,
let’s take the example of a muslim who
murdered another muslim for no reason. In
(52)
Islam generally the punishment prescribed
is capital punishment according to sahih
Also something that is medically harmless
narrations:
does not necessarily mean it is suitable in
society - for instance one can argue that
consesual incest does not pose any risks to ‫ َق اَل َرُس وُل الَّلِه صلى الله عليه و سلم "َل ا‬: ‫َع ْن اْبِن َم ْس ُع وٍد َرِض َي اللُه َع ْنُه َق اَل‬
the people doing it thus it should not be a ‫ وأني رسول الله] إَّل ا ِبِإْح َد ى‬،‫َيِحُّل َدُم اْم ِرٍئ ُم ْس ِلٍم [ يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله‬
‫ الَّتاِرُك ِلِد يِنِه اْلُم َف اِرُق ِلْلَجَم اَع ِة‬، ‫ الَّنْف ِبالَّنْف ِس‬،‫ الَّثِّي الَّزاِني‬: ‫"َثَل اٍث‬.
problem. ‫َو‬ ‫َو ُس‬ ‫ُب‬
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[ ‫ ]َر َو اُه اْلُبَخ اِرُّي‬، [ ‫]َوُم ْس ِلٌم‬. Firstly Muhsin fails to reference the hadith
and quote the hadith. Maybe because he is
“On the authority of Abdullah Ibn Masud scared he is going to be proven wrong.
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon After a few minutes of research and
him) said:"It is not permissible to spill the probably found the hadith he was talking
blood of a Muslim except in three about:
[instances]: the married person who
commits adultery, a life for a life, and the
one who forsakes his religion and
separates from the community."[Al- He is once again proved to be a liar.
Bukhari & Muslim]” The hadith is graded as hasan meaning
good - although it is not sahih. But if he
From the 40 hadith of Imam An-Nawawi considers his arguments as valid (the goat
Hadith no 14(53) eating hadith) then he is contradicting
himself.
Firstly, hadd punishments can only be
done by an islamic government and by the (18) Conclusion
ruler - and this must be specified.
To conclude, Muhsin Hendricks and the so
called “scholars” he follows are not a
This is just one of the examples of capital
reliable islamic source of authority or
punishments prescribed in Islam.
knowledge.

(17) Al Tabarani hadith on Muhsin Hendricks spent over a decade

lesbianism working with the Inner Circle, a kuffar
For reference this is what Hendricks had to LGBTQ+ organisation, so it is only fair
say: that he is not being taken seriously.

In this article, there are so many other

things I could touch upon. For example his
view of the hijab as well as debunking
more of his ignorant claims,

What has to be mentioned is what should a

muslim’s attitude towards LGBTQ+ be: a
muslim should not discriminate towards
such people, the best thing is engaging in
productive conversations, advising and
(54)
dawah. This also means, a certain degree
of respect should be applied, the respect a
Thoughts on "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
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muslim has for a christian or jew.
However a muslim should never support
LGBTQ+, because it is a kuffar
ideology/movement that clearly goes
against the Quran and Sunnah as i
repeatedly explained throughout this
article as well, to do so is Kufr Al Akbar
and you would be out of the fold of Islam.
When it comes to LGBTQ+ muslims like
Muhsin Hendricks, they cannot be
considered scholars - they are liars,
deceivers and unislamic. For instance the
lie about the hadith of Tabarani which he
did not reference, so people would not
check it. As well as promoting un islamic
views and covering them as islamic.
Reference:
“At-Tabarani reported in Al-Kabeer, and
Abu Ya’la, and As-Suyooti classified it as
hasan (good), from Waathilah may Allah
be pleased with him that the Prophet
(pbuh) (may Allah exalt his mention) said,
"Lesbianism among women is Zina
(fornication or adultery) between them."”
(At least Muhsin should’ve talked about
the sanad of the hadith just to make his
argument better - but it seems that there is
not a big issue with the sanad)
However, scholars agree that the
punishment for lesbianism is not the same
as adultery as there is no penetration.
27
Furthermore, they have no education from
other islamic scholars, only western
secular teachers and institutions.
The validity of the paper he wrote is very
questionable, he used many inconsistent
hadith and the labelling he used was
problematic. For instance calling every
scholar that does not agree with him
(basically every scholar) an orthodox
scholar, trying to show how it is
backwards to have this view. Additionally
not only his references are troubling, even
his definitions are.
He says:
“Zina is a term used in orthodox Islam for
extramarital and premarital sex for which
there is a punishment of either stoning to
death or up to a hundred whip lashes.
Progressive Muslims would prefer to view
zina as sexual relationships with someone
outside of a longstanding commitment,
contract or mutual agreement, be it verbal
or written.”
Zina is a term used in orthodox Islam!?
Adultery is a term used in all Islam,
period. Even the Shias agree on this. Also
where is his evidence for his definition?
Here is what the Quran says:
٣٢ ‫َو اَل َتْقَر ُبو۟ا ٱلِّز َنٰٓى ۖ ِإَّن ۥُه َك اَن َفٰـِح َش ًۭة َو َس ٓاَء َس ِبياًۭل‬
“Do not go near adultery. It is truly a
shameful deed and an evil way.”
(Quran 17:32) (55)
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Note how it says “Do not go near”, not

even “Don’t do”. Wallahi this is sad, very
sad - people like to ruin the image of the
religion. Even according to his belief of
interpretation how can someone interpret
this any differently?

Such people cannot be called muslims and

they are the enemy of Islam, if this was
300 years ago they would have received
takfir (excommunicated) from the religion,
by all scholars (doesn’t mean scholars
would not consider this as apostasy in
today’s time, just this article doesn’t
deserve their attention nor is popular).

In conclusion, Muhsin Hendricks’s article

“Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance
of Queer Individuals into Mainstream
Muslim Society” Is un islamic, invalid,
deceiving, false and very poorly
augmented, and has no theological basis in
Islam; even someone like me (not a
scholar, just a hifz student and a student of
knowledge) can easily debunk.

Allah (swt) knows best, and I implore He

gives understanding to me and to everyone
reading this, if i were to make a mistake i
seek forgiveness.
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References

1) Quran 4:16
2) Quran 7:80-83
3) Quran 26:165-175
4) Quran 27:54-58
5) Quran 29:28-31
6) Sahih Bukhari 5886 - In Book Reference: Book 77, Hadith 103 - Classified as Sahih
7) Sahih Bukhari 5885 - In Book Reference: Book 77, Hadith 102 - Classified as Sahih
8) Sunan Abu Dawood 4018 - In Book Reference: Book 33, Hadith 10 - Classified as
Sahih (Al-Albani)
9) Jami At-Tirmidhi 1456 - In Book Reference: Book 17, Hadith 40 - Classified as
Hasan
10) Sunan Ibn Majah 2562 - In Book Reference: Book 20, Hadith 30 - Classified as
Hasan
11) Page 39 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
12) Tafsir Al-Jalalayn of verse 4:16
13) Quran 4:16
14) Tafsir Ibn Kathir of verse 4:16
15) Al-Jawab Al-Kafi, p. 115
16) Al-Siyasah al-Shar’iyyah, p. 138
17) Al-Mughni (9/62)
18) Irshaad al-Fuhool, 2/297-303
19) Al-Usool fi ‘Ilm al-Usool, p. 85, 86; Sharh p. 584-590.
20) https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/7883/analysis-for-claim-that-door-of-ijtihad-is-
closed-in-muslim-community.pdf
21) Page 45 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
22) Tafsir Ibn Kathif on verse 24:31
23) Quran 4:1
24) Quran 53:45
25) Quran 23:5-7
26) Page 32 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
27) Page 14 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
28) Page 45 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
29) Quran 4:112
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30) Page 33 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
31) Quran 2:2
32) Page 34 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
33) Imam as-Shafi Kitab al-Umm (5/203)
34) Quran 36:36
35) Quran 4:34
36) Laubach 1976 - Published: 1st May 1976
37) Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2646 - In Book Reference: Book 41, Hadith 2 - Classified as Sahih
38) Quran 2:256
39) Sunan Abi Dawud 3904 - In Book Reference: Book 30, Hadith 1 - Classified as
Sahih (Albani)
40) Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1165 - In Book Reference: Book 12, Hadith 20 - Classified as
Sahih by Ibn Daqiq Al - Eid in al-Ilmam (2/660) and by Al-Albani
41) Page 38 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
42) Same as (41)
43) Quran 11:78
44) Page 39 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
45) Quran 7:81
46) Same as (44)
47) Same as (44)
48) Page 40 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
49) No need to name source - Because is in the Tafsir (One can directly look up tafsir -
name - then verse)
50) Page 46 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
51) Same as (45)
52) Page 37 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
53) 40 hadith of Imam An-Nawawi Hadith no 14
54) Page 43 - "Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into
Mainstream Muslim Society" - Muhsin Hendricks
55) Quran 17:32
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Bibliography
1) Al Hakam - One of God’s 99 names, means “The Impartial Judge”
2) Al Haadi - One of God’s 99 names, means “The Guide”
3) Ijtihad - A religious duty for the one who is qualified to understand sharia law and on
the basis of sharia evidence
4) Ijmaa - Universal infallible value consensus in Islam
5) Sanad - Chain Of Narrators
6) Kufr - Denying religious truth
7) Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama - Followers of the sunnah
8) Pbuh - Peace Be Upon Him
9) Sahih - A hadith that is sound
10) Hasan - A hadith that is good
11) Da'if - A hadith that is weak
12) Sahaba - Companions of the Prophet (pbuh)
13) Riba - Arabic term for interest
14) Hadd - Punishments under sharia law

Narrators Mentioned
1) Abdullah Ibn Abbas
2) Abu Sa’id al-Khudri
3) Sai’d bin Jubayr
4) Mujahid Ibn Jabr
5) Abu Hurayrah
6) Malik bin Anas
7) Yahya ibn Saeed
8) Hammad bin Salema
9) Ibn Ishaq
10) Abdullah Ibn Masud

May Allah (swt) have mercy on them.