Islamic view of anal sex
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Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s, the reported sayings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, prescribe harsh punishments for homosexuality, and this is reflected in the majority of shariah, the Islamic legal codes. In practice, only a few Muslim countries actually carry out such punishments, and cultural norms in different Muslim countries vary from acceptance to condemnation.
Quran
The basic text of Islam is the Quran, believed by Muslims to represent the direct revelation of AllahAllah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
(i.e., God) to his prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. While the Quran clearly disapproves of the sexual practices of the "people of Lot," ("What, of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you?"), only one passage, sura 4:16, can be interpreted as taking a particular legal position towards such activities, and even then the punishment is restricted to members of the Islamic community: "As for the two of you who are guilty thereof, punish them both; and if they repent and improve, then let them be. Lo, Allah is relenting, merciful."
Hadiths
The hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
are reports of Muhammad's sayings and deeds from those close to him in his lifetime. Hadiths on the subject of homosexuality are clear that it is strictly forbidden. Hadiths are secondary to the rulings provided in the Quran.
Law (shariah)
Islamic law, or shariah, developed during the 8th and 9th centuries in several different "schools" based on varying interpretations of the Quran and the hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
.
Shariah distinguishes between liwat (penetrative male-male sexual activity, the "sin of Lot's people") and non-penetrative male same-sex activity, considered only a minor sin; however, even the minor sin is regarded as a temptation to penetrative liwat, and therefore requiring chastisement. Generally speaking, since sexual relations under shariah are only permissible within heterosexual marriage, it follows that sex outside such marriage is adultery and/or fornication, both of which attract punishments. Homosexual sodomy, defined as adultery or fornication or both, thus attracts the same penalties as those crimes (flogging or death), although the exact punishment varies with schools and scholars. In practice, few modern Muslim countries have legal systems based fully on shariah, and an increasing number of Muslims do not look to shariah but to the Quran itself for moral guidance.
The position regarding male/female sexual intercourse is not clear-cut, but no less important a figure than Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest Shiite cleric in Iraq, has stated that heterosexual anal intercourse, although undesirable, is permissible. The majority of Shiite interpreters hold that (1) anal intercourse, while strongly disliked, is not haram (forbidden) provided the wife agrees, and (2), if the wife does not agree, then it is preferable to refrain: "Woman is a means of your pleasure, therefore do not harm her."