Question :
I have reviewed some studies calling for granting rights to homosexuals in Muslim societies and changing some laws that prohibit abortion as well as sexual relations outside marriage under different names, such as sex education and reproductive health. I have also noticed the use of certain terms, such as "intimate partner" instead of husband and "sexual intercourse outside marriage." What is the ruling of Sharia on this?
The Answer :
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
The concepts given in the above question are in clear violation of Islamic creed since the rulings of Sharia encompass the actions of the responsible Muslims and their living conditions including familial, social, organizational, and legal affairs pertaining to the individual and society.
I is well known that Islamic creed emanates from general principles; the first of which is that Allah the Almighty is the Creator of all creations, knows all about them, and the command is His alone. He the Almighty says, "Verily, His is creation and the command. Blessed be God, the Lord of the Worlds!" {Al-`Araf, 54}. Allah the Almighty caused cosmic norms to run in accordance with a well-organized system based on His knowledge of all matters and Will. He the Exalted says {What means}: "Will He Who has created not know? And He is the Subtle, the Aware." {Al-Mulk, 14}. An example of this is that He the Almighty created a pair of male and female; each of whom has special traits. Allah says {What means}: "To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He will; He gives to whomever He will females, and He gives to whomever He will males." {Al-Shura, 49}.
Consequently, it is prohibited to promote or call for whatever contradicts with Islamic creed and Fiqh (Jurisprudence) in terms of matters of consensus and the necessarily known matters of religion. The same applies to whatever contradicts with moral values, upon which Muslim societies are founded, international laws and treaties according to which it is required to respect the religious as well as the cultural specificities of societies.
It is also well known that Islam is the religion of the Muslim states and an integral part of their religious, legal, cultural, and human identity. Therefore, it is forbidden to violate its teachings or definitive rulings.
In addition, the contemporary general international law requires respecting the cultural and religious specificities of societies and peoples for it is a fundamental right of the collective human rights. The Vienna Convention, 1969, gave the right to states to make reservations on treaties, which indicates that it is required to observe religious as well as cultural specificities in human rights treaties and other. This is because they may be in contradiction with the national legislations of these states particularly legislations based on fundamental religious or cultural rulings.
The concepts mentioned in the above question are in clear contradiction with the definitive rulings of Sharia and the constitution of Jordan, which stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state. Moreover, they don`t take into account the values and morals of the diverse Jordanian society nor respect the genuine Jordanian customs and traditions. Consequently, it is absolutely prohibited to have sexual relations outside marriage since Allah the Almighty says {What means}: "And do not come [anywhere] near fornication. It is indeed an indecency and an evil way." {Al-Isra`, 32}. Promoting homosexuality is rejected on both the cultural and the religious levels, in addition to contradicting with natural inclination. Allah the Almighty says {What means}: "And Lot when he said to his people, 'Do you commit abomination, such as no one in all the worlds ever committed before you? Do you come lustfully to men instead of women? Nay, you are a wanton folk'." {Al-A`raf, 80-81}.
On the cultural, moral, religious, and societal levels, we firmly reject the concepts, which contradict with the rulings of Sharia, mentioned in the above question. Accordingly, we reiterate the following:
1-We firmly reject legalizing homosexuality, setting up laws permitting it, defending it, or promoting it amongst the different classes of society.
2-We firmly reject permitting Zina (adultery/fornication) under any names, such as "sexual relations outside marriage."
3-We firmly reject making abortion permissible without acceptable medical reasons.
We call on every family to be aware of these suspicious calls and fortify their children against them since they are disguised under attractive names, such as freedom and else. We also call on governments to stand firmly against whoever tries to corrupt the values and morals of the Muslim societies. And Allah the Almighty knows best.