Question Summary:
Q: But as ive got older, and times are changing quickly ive become confused – islam is a religion of peace and forgivness and understanding yet Allah says if someone is gay then they should be killed…

Question Detail:

Hello, im a muslim teenage girl living in Great Britain, I adore my religion and i always defend it to the very core, But as ive got older, and times are changing quickly ive become confused - islam is a religion of peace and forgivness and understanding yet Allah says if someone is gay then they should be killed, im not gay!! and i do belive that being gay is wrong, but more and more each day muslims are coming out and admitting that they are gay, but also I dont belive in hurting anyone i belive in peace and isnt it Allahs job on the day of judgement to deal with these people and punish them accordingly not mine or anyone elses? as you can tell im a bit confused on the subject and when non-muslims ask me about it i dont really know what to say. If you could help me at all and put my mind at rest i'd be really grateful.

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
It is only natural for the uneducated youth, growing up in our era to be confused regarding certain matters of the Shar’iah. There is a tremendous amount of propaganda from the anti-Muslim sector to distort the original pristine teachings of Shar'iah into a new reformed, liberal and watered down version of the Shar’iah. There is a push for the reformation and renaissance of Islam. The liberal minded atheists who have severed their ties to any form of organized religion wish to sever the ties of the Muslims from their religion. As such, they present objections against the Shar’iah claiming that the Shar’iah is barbaric, backwards and extreme. They have themselves distorted their own religion and wish to do the same with Islam. The reality of the matter is that Allah Ta’ala has promised to preserve His Deen and the Deen of Islam will remain unchanged and preserved until the Day of Judgment.
The very first thing that one should be cognizant of is that religion as a whole, is dependent upon revelation from Allah to His beloved Prophet, Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم . The Shar’iah is not based upon the intelligence, logic or desires of any individual. The Shar’iah was codified approximately 1400 years ago and any attempt to reform or depart from it is clear misguidance. If the Shar'iah deems an act permissible, such an act can never be considered impermissible no matter how many people lobby to prohibit it. Similarly, if another act is deemed sinful and impermissible, it will never be considered to the contrary despite the efforts of the reformers to reinterpret it.
In reference to your statement regarding non-Muslims asking you about such beliefs and practices, you should understand that Muslims never need to justify their beliefs to disbelievers. As Muslims, we have one set of tenets and laws and the disbelievers have another set of beliefs and laws. We merely believe and submit to the revelation sent by Allah Ta’ala to his beloved Messenger. It is obvious that the disbelievers dislike and disagree with our faith and beliefs. Allah Ta’ala mentions regarding the Christians and Jews,
وَلَنْ تَرْضَى عَنْكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَى حَتَّى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ
“They will never ever be satisfied and happy with you until you do not follow their creed.” (2:120)
Today their objection against Islam is regarding the permissibility of execution of gays and tomorrow they will object against the execution of adulterers. Then their objections will continue and they will object against the impermissibility of gay marriages and so on. Should their disapproval of our creed lead us to feelings of inferiority? Should we discard and change our religion to please the disbelievers?
As you have mentioned, Islam is undeniably a religion of peace yet it is also a religion of submission. As fallible humans who are prone to hundreds of mistakes, we are not fit to legislate any laws of the Shar’iah based upon our intelligence and neither is it our right as servants to legislate our own laws. As obedient slaves to our beloved Creator and Cherisher, we merely listen and obey. Allah Ta’ala in His infinite knowledge and wisdom knows why He legislates certain laws. It is contrary to the servitude, subjugation and trust of a Muslim to question the wisdom or logic of Allah Ta’ala laws. Furthermore, being a religion of peace does not mean being a religion that tolerates iniquity and wickedness. If being a religion of peace means overlooking evils and vice for the ease and comfort of the perpetrator, of what benefit would the laws of religion serve? Even the most modern and liberal of countries have laws that govern the iniquity and disobedience of its citizens.
Examples of Federal capital statutes (death sentences) for non-murder crimes:

One simple example of this is the act of treason. A person can be executed for leaking domestic information to another country. Why is this act not considered extreme and fanatical? Why is the country that perpetrates such acts not considered radical? Shouldn’t these countries also be peaceful, forgiving and understanding? The reality of the matter is that rules and regulations are legislated to maintain law and order in society. 
Similarly, the law regarding the execution of gays has been enacted to maintain law, order and a moral society.
Having mentioned thus, it should be noted that Allah Ta’ala has not explicitly mentioned that gays should be killed. There is no Ayah in the Holy Quran to substantiate this claim.
There is no clear-cut substantiation or proof which necessitates the indiscriminate killing of gays. However there are Ahadith (Prophetic narrations) of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم that do indicate to the permissibility of executing gays caught in the act of perpetrating this heinous sin.
من وجدتموه يعمل عمل قوم لوط فاقتلوا الفاعل والمفعول به  (ابو داود)
This establishes that the Shar'iah does not necessitate absolute execution in every single case. The Jurists mention that such Ahadith merely indicate to the permissibility of execution in the event that the leader or government of a certain place deem it to be the best course of action for that particular society. The matter is  to the hands of the leader and government officials. If they deem it politically beneficial, they are permitted to execute the homosexual caught perpetrating the act. Similarly, if they deem it better to counsel and advise the perpetrator to repent from the sin or to apply another form of punishment, they are permitted to take that course of action as well.
This seems to be a similar stance taken by various state governments in the . Recently, states like Texas, Oklahoma and South Carolina have enacted laws permitting the execution of repeat sexual offenders who forcefully sodomize minors. The state of Montana is even more strict and do not stipulate an age limit.
The question one has to ask is why is the execution of sodomites in Islam considered barbaric and extreme, yet when the statutes permitting the same execution in western countries not considered radical and barbaric. The only real difference between the two cases seems to be between forced and consensual sodomy. A secular government only safeguards its public from physical dangers and has divorced itself from the moral issues of its subjects: therefore; they only permit the execution of homosexuals for cases of forced sodomy. A religious Muslim government aims to safeguard its public from physical as well as moral and spiritual danger; therefore, such a government will permit the execution of homosexuals for both forced and consensual sodomy.
Nevertheless, no matter what explanation a Muslim presents to the disbelievers, they will never be content with it and continue taunting the Muslims regarding their faith. As mentioned previously, Allah Ta’ala states in the Holy Quran, “They will never ever be satisfied and happy with you until you do not follow their creed.”  Therefore, we need not worry about their opinions regarding our faith. We should rather strive to please Allah and worry less about pleasing the disbelievers.
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1. Jeffrey Kirchmeier, "Casting a Wider Net: Another Decade of Legislative Expansion of the Death Penalty in the ," 34 Pepperdine Law Review 1, 16-17 and n.86 (2006).
STATE OF LOUISIANA v. PATRICK KENNEDY (No. 05-KA-1981, May 22, 2007), at 37-56 (reviewing laws
allowing the death penalty for crimes that do not involve murder).
Marion Quirk, Memo: Death Penalty - Sexual Crimes (June 13, 2006) (on file with DPIC).
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah
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