Friday Sermon: What the Holy Scriptures say and warn about Homosexuality and related LGBQT+ Culture’s Invasion on our Societies
by Ebrahim Mohamed
23 June 2023 (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-e-Islam Lahore, South Africa)
“Ash-ha-du al laa ilaaha illa-llaahu wahda-hu-laa-shareeka lahu wa ashadu anna Muhammadan abdu hu wa Rasoolo hu”
“I bear witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allah Who has no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant and messenger of”
“Allah Amma Baad — Auzo billahi minashaytaan nirrajeem. Bismillah hi Rahmaan ni Raheem”
“I begin in the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
وَ لُوۡطًا اِذۡ قَالَ لِقَوۡمِہٖۤ اَتَاۡتُوۡنَ الۡفَاحِشَۃَ مَا سَبَقَکُمۡ بِہَا مِنۡ اَحَدٍ مِّنَ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ ﴿۸۰﴾ اِنَّکُمۡ لَتَاۡتُوۡنَ الرِّجَالَ شَہۡوَۃً مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ النِّسَآءِ ؕ بَلۡ اَنۡتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ مُّسۡرِفُوۡنَ ﴿۸۱﴾
“And (We sent) Lot, when he said to his people: Do you commit an abomination which no one in the world did before you? Surely you come to males with lust instead of females. Nay, you are a people exceeding bounds.” (The Holy Quran, 7:81–82)
اِنَّہُمۡ کَانُوۡا قَوۡمَ سَوۡءٍ فٰسِقِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۷۴﴾
“…Inn-na-hum kaa-noo qaw-ma saw-in faa-si-qeen.”
“Surely they (i.e., the people of Sodom and Gomorrah) were an evil people, transgressors.” (The Holy Quran, 21:74)
The abomination referred to here, in the Holy Quran, associated with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to whom the Prophet Lot was sent, is the topic of much debate these days because of the overwhelming onslaughts of a sinful homosexual culture that is now totally out of control that has invaded society and threatening to destroy the ‘so called’ civilized Western societies.
The people of Lot to whom the origin of such gross immoral acts are attributed most probably existed approximately 2000 years B.C. which makes about 4000 years ago from today.
According to the Holy Quran such acts never existed before that time. Therefore, it was never, as some argue, genetically passed on to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for this is not how Almighty Allah created man.
Nay! The abominations started knowingly and wilfully by a morally depraved generation that came much later. The gross abominations were of such a horrific nature that Almighty Allah severely punished the perpetrators after warning them repeatedly to reform. When they persistently refused to heed the warnings that came to them, they were destroyed in an earthquake and covered with burning volcanic lava that rained upon them from the sky. But despite this it still seems that man has not learnt anything from this catastrophe.
And thus, we find that even after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah the evil was not completely wiped out and sporadically rose its ugly head in the time of the Greeks and Romans who wantonly [in a sexually unstrained way] again resorted to such banal sexual practices. Of note is the fact that when it surfaced once more in those societies it also beckoned the beginning of the end of their empires. This begs the question, is this perhaps a sign of the end of the great 21st century Western Empire where such behaviours are now most rife?
This is a valid question as we witness the same, perhaps even more, gross abominations surfacing with speed as it did in the time of Lot. Again, we find man wants to legitimize it regardless of the fact that the Almighty strictly prohibited and criminalized it since the time it first raised its ugly head in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Now it is important to bear in mind that we are not talking about those who suffer from a psychological disease or hormonal imbalances called ‘gender dysphoria’. These are easily treatable and from studies made in the United States and the United Kingdom such affected people only comprise approximately 0.01 per cent of this wayward LGBTQ+ group. Nay! We are talking of people who out sheer evil impulses for no reason except driven by extreme lust resort to such practices.
Therefore, one of the prime reasons why such behaviours have surfaced so widely in this age is due to the moral decrepitude of a generation that have lost complete faith in Almighty God and in formal religion. As a result, a Machiavellian culture of
‘do whatever pleases you when and how you like’
has emerged; a sort of free for all ideology where man’s uncontrolled bestial nature drives him to seek satisfaction outside of God-Given norms and boundaries, is now dominant. That is why it is called an abomination or a transgression of bounds in the Holy Scriptures. Ironically though, much of the explosion of this ungodly culture on modern society can be blamed on the Church itself. The homosexual abominations have a direct link to the unnatural practice of celibacy enforced upon Catholic priests, monks, and nuns. Catholicism no doubt has a huge influence over Western societies, the majority of whom are Catholic. They should have known that when a human being is deprived eternally from normal divinely permitted sexual relationships between a male and a female, unnatural behaviours such as male-on-male and female-on-female sexual activity inevitably would arise as a result. This is what we see happening now ad nauseum.
There are thousands of cases that have been exposed that were once suppressed and wiped under the carpet by the Church even as high up as the Pope himself; cases of priests sexually abusing young boys and of gross immoral sexual activity among nuns where mother superiors abuse fresh innocent young vulnerable female entrants to the nunnery merely seeking spiritual guidance and solace.
No doubt these abominations that have been practised for generations but kept under the radar soon spilled over into society in general where it has become a sickness of enormous proportion and growing. Studies have shown from hundreds of thousands of cases worldwide that most sexual offences are committed by those who were abused when they were young. Also being repeatedly abused by someone whom they looked up to as their spiritual mentors about which they remained silent made them believe such acts were the God-inspired permissible norm. When exposed this proved a huge embarrassment to the Church and therefore, we now find that the only way the Church is responding to this enigma is to give ‘the other cheek’ and legitimize such behaviour. Thus, same sex marriages and gay and lesbian pastors are all allowed now.
Come to think of it, this is a deliberate departure by the Church from religious norms as dictated by their scripture. They know by legitimizing such abominations they can now easily absolve themselves of any criminal charges being brought forward against them by the parents of abused children. They simply have to argue that it is but normal, legitimate behaviour. This is why the Pope is on board with it because the problem has become too huge for him to handle morally, so simply making the immoral, moral, is the best way out.
This has been the practice of Paul and the Early Church Fathers since the inception of Pauline Christianity in the 4th century A.D.; that is simply chopping and changing doctrines and scripture for survival in an ever-changing world. When he wanted the Romans and Greeks to accept his version of the Gospel, to appease them, Paul would, among other things, go so far and for example do away with circumcision, a divine law that was revealed to Abraham and that was observed by Jesus himself and all the Jews up till this day.
Nevertheless, this unsavoury situation now poses huge problems for the Church. Huge divisions have emerged between these liberalists and those few orthodox, conservative Christians whose cries in the wilderness for sanity to prevail and for a return to the Word of God, are being cancelled whilst at the same time being accused of heresy and threatened with excommunication from the Church. Their numbers are dwindling daily while their opposition is growing like an overblown monster.
The fact that that some in our generation have reverted to the days of — nay have transgressed even further than — the people of Sodom and Gomorrah that were destroyed by Almighty Allah, is indeed frightening to behold.
Thus, we find in the Quranic narrative, Prophet Lot (Lut in Arabic) was sent as a messenger to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to guide them away from their immoral practices. The people of these cities were known for their widespread corruption, including engaging in homosexual acts, practicing extortion, and committing other grave sins, including indulging in acts of public indecencies.
اَئِنَّکُمۡ لَتَاۡتُوۡنَ الرِّجَالَ وَ تَقۡطَعُوۡنَ السَّبِیۡلَ ۬ۙ وَ تَاۡتُوۡنَ فِیۡ نَادِیۡکُمُ الۡمُنۡکَرَ ؕ فَمَا کَانَ جَوَابَ قَوۡمِہٖۤ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ قَالُوا ائۡتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللّٰہِ اِنۡ کُنۡتَ مِنَ الصّٰدِقِیۡنَ ﴿۲۹﴾
“Do you come to males and commit robbery on the highway, and commit evil deeds in your assemblies? But the answer of his people was only that they said: Bring on us Allah’s chastisement, if thou art truthful.” (The Holy Quran, 29:29).
With all these brazen public gay pride parades taking place across the world since these transgressors emerged from their dark closets, does this not ring a bell?
Lot and his followers preached to them urging them to reform their evil ways and return to obedience and observance of divine law, but they mocked them and threatened them with forced exile.
Says the Holy Quran:
وَ مَا کَانَ جَوَابَ قَوۡمِہٖۤ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ قَالُوۡۤا اَخۡرِجُوۡہُمۡ مِّنۡ قَرۡیَتِکُمۡ ۚ اِنَّہُمۡ اُنَاسٌ یَّتَطَہَّرُوۡنَ ﴿۸۲﴾ فَاَنۡجَیۡنٰہُ وَ اَہۡلَہٗۤ اِلَّا امۡرَاَتَہٗ ۫ۖ کَانَتۡ مِنَ الۡغٰبِرِیۡنَ ﴿۸۳﴾
“And the answer of his people was no other than that they said: Turn them out of your town; surely they are a people who aspire to purity! So We delivered him and his followers, except his wife — she was of those who remained behind.” (The Holy Quran, 7:82–83)
It is interesting to note that the wife of Lot was destroyed together with the rest of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah although it does not say what specific sin she committed. Now whilst the Holy Quran specifically mentions the forbidden indecent act of male-on-male sex it does not mention specifically the forbidden female-on-female sexual acts in the Sodom and Gomorrah narrative although as we will see later, we come across such acts mentioned in the Bible by Paul in his address to the Greeks and Romans. But would we be far off the mark to assume that the punishment of Lot’s wife came as a result of such acts and that it was not as the Bible would have us believe it was because she looked back after being warned by Lot not to do so when they vacated the city under Almighty Allah’s command that she was turned into a salt pillar.
It is important to bear in mind that the Holy Quran does not provide extensive details on narratives such as these. Nay! It rather focuses instead on the broader message and moral lessons of such narratives — in this instance from the story of Lot and the punishment of his people. In chapter 11, the Quran mentions the punishment of Lot’s wife but there is no specific mention of her turning back and being transformed into a pillar of salt. The Holy Quran merely emphasizes that she, along with the rest of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, were destroyed for their disobedience and persistent sinful behaviour.
Despite Prophet Lot’s efforts to guide and advise them, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah ignored him and continued with their sinful ways and refused to repent. Consequently, Allah decided to punish them for their transgressions. The specific punishment is described as a severe earthquake accompanied by a loud cry from the sky most likely a volcanic eruption. The cities were overturned and destroyed, and their inhabitants were annihilated.
Says the Holy Quran:
فَاَخَذَتۡہُمُ الصَّیۡحَۃُ مُشۡرِقِیۡنَ ﴿ۙ۷۳﴾ فَجَعَلۡنَا عَالِیَہَا سَافِلَہَا وَ اَمۡطَرۡنَا عَلَیۡہِمۡ حِجَارَۃً مِّنۡ سِجِّیۡلٍ ﴿ؕ۷۴﴾ اِنَّ فِیۡ ذٰلِکَ لَاٰیٰتٍ لِّلۡمُتَوَسِّمِیۡنَ ﴿۷۵﴾
“So the cry overtook them at sunrise; thus we turned it (i.e. the earth) upside down, and rained upon them hard stones. Surely in this are signs for those who take a lesson.” (The Holy Quran, 15:73–75; see also 11:82 and 29:34)
Since the sins of homosexuality and its seemingly endless alphabetic spinoffs are an anathema to all Abrahamic faiths, I thought it would be appropriate to see also what the Jewish and Christian scriptures say about it. The Bible addresses the topic in a few passages. Here are the main references:
Leviticus 18:22, the Old Testament of the Jews states:
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
And Leviticus 20:13 states:
“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”
Then let us turn to the New Testament of the Christians:
Paul addresses the Romans in Romans 1:26–27 and says:
“For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, (this is a clear reference to acts of lesbianism I mentioned earlier) and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
He then addresses the Greeks in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 and says:
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Again, we see large sections of society engaging in such filth with pride (excuse the pun) nowadays. The voices of the righteous are once again muffled and they are threatened. Again, we hear the threats of the guilty of Sodom and Gomorrah being repeated, threats such as:
اَخۡرِجُوۡہُمۡ مِّنۡ قَرۡیَتِکُمۡ ۚ اِنَّہُمۡ اُنَاسٌ یَّتَطَہَّرُوۡنَ ﴿۸۲﴾
“Turn them out of your town; surely they are a people who aspire to purity!” (The Holy Quran, 7:82)
Except these days these are the words emanating from the Church itself and governments and educational institutions.
Like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah the guilty have no fear of the wrath of Allah; in fact, they too dismiss such possibilities with disdain. They deliberately ignore the fact that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned as examples of societies that engaged in these grave sins and transgressions. Their punishment serves as a lesson and warning to all mankind. The Holy Quran, Jewish and Christian scriptures highlight the dire consequences that await those that indulge in such immoral behaviours and reject divine guidance. They totally mock the fact that the Holy Scriptures emphasize the importance of righteousness and obedience to Almighty Allah’s commandments. We do not know what the Almighty has in mind for these ignorant transgressors, so we pray:
رَبَّنَا لَا تَجۡعَلۡنَا فِتۡنَۃً لِّلَّذِیۡنَ کَفَرُوۡا وَ اغۡفِرۡ لَنَا رَبَّنَا ۚ اِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِیۡزُ الۡحَکِیۡمُ ﴿۵﴾
“Rabb-ba-naa laa taj-‘al-naa fit-na-tal lill-la-zee-na ka-fa-roo wagh-fir-la-naa rabb-ba-naa, inn-na-ka an-tal ‘a-zee-zul ha-keem.”
“Our Lord, make us not a trial for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord. Surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.” (The Holy Quran, 60:5)
بَارَکَ اللّٰهُ لَنَا وَلَکُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِیْم، وَنَفَعَنَا وَاِیَّاکُمْ بِالْآیَاتِ وَالذِّکْرِ الْحَکِیْم۔ اِنَّہٗ تَعَالیٰ جَوَادٌ کَرِیْمٌ مَلِکٌ بَرَّ رَوُوفُ رَّحَیْمٌ۔
“Baa-ra-kal laa-hu la-naa wa la-kum fil qur-aa-nil ‘Azeem, wa na-fa-a’-naa wa ee-yaa –kum bil-aa-yaa-ti waz-zik-ril Ha-keem, in-na-hoo ta’-aa-laa Ja-waa- dun Ka-ree-mun Ma-li-kun Bar-rur Ra-oo-fur Ra-heem,”
“May Allah bless us all in the glorious Quran and may He let us benefit by His signs and wise remembrance. Verily Allah the Almighty is Generous, Affectionate, King, Most Kind, Compassionate and Merciful.”