Curious about Shi’ism?

Here are a few pointers to help guide your journey.

Welcome to Your Journey into Shia Islam

We’re so glad you’re here. Whether you’re simply curious, exploring spirituality, or seeking a deeper connection to your faith, this guide is here to support you. Think of it as a friendly conversation with someone who has walked this path and found it enriching. It’s not the ultimate guide or a one-size-fits-all manual, but rather a collection of suggestions, resources, and insights that may resonate with you as you embark on this journey.

Remember, your exploration of Shia Islam is deeply personal. Go at your own pace, reflect on what you learn, and embrace the questions that arise along the way. Welcome to a path of discovery and growth—we’re here cheering you on!

Online lectures

For a peaceful and insightful introduction to Shia Islam, we highly recommend Hussain Makke. His focus on spirituality and his gentle approach make his lectures deeply engaging and accessible.

Another lecturer we’ve found valuable is Jawad Qazwini, who offers thoughtful and accessible content that speaks to a wide range of audiences.

A fantastic resource to explore is shialectures.org. This platform features a wide range of speakers in multiple languages, allowing you to find someone who aligns with your learning style or language preferences.

When you’re ready to dive deeper into the spiritual and philosophical dimensions of Shia Islam, Sayyed Kamal Al Haydari is an excellent resource. His work on irfan (gnosticism) and Unity of Being is particularly profound, but we recommend building foundational knowledge before tackling these advanced topics.

On the subject of homosexuality in Islam, we encourage approaching this topic with care, as it can be complex and emotionally challenging. For a progressive Shia perspective, this video offers a thoughtful approach that you might find helpful (summary of video below).

Summary of (Homo)Sexuality and the Quran, Pride Khutba at el Tawhid Juma Circle: The Unity Mosque video

    • Historical openness about sexuality

      • The speaker references Imam Ghazali (d. 1111 CE) and notes that the Prophet Muhammad and major scholars in Islamic history discussed sex and sexuality candidly.

      • Scott Kugle (in Progressive Muslims, ed. Omid Safi) argues that Islam, compared to other faith traditions, is notably “sex-positive.” Kugle claims that Islamic discourse historically treated sexual desire as a normal aspect of human creation rather than a source of sin.

    • Sex as part of divine wisdom

      • The Qur’an does not link sexual desire to the “fall” of Adam and Eve.

      • Sexual desire is described as part of Allah’s purposeful creation, meant to:

        1. Bring people together and heal divisions.

        2. Encourage confronting spiritual and ethical truths.

        3. Allow for human continuity through generations.

    • Contraception and pleasure

      • Historically, Muslims showed openness to contraception, indicating a recognition that sex could be for pleasure, not merely for procreation.

    • Scholarly affirmations

      • The Tunisian sociologist Abdelwahab Bouhdiba is quoted, highlighting how Islam’s early and radical “legitimization of sexuality” fostered a rich culture of attending to physical/erotic well-being.

    • Historical context of the term “homosexuality”

      • The word “homosexuality” as we use it today arose in the 19th century (ca. 1869). It did not exist in 7th-century Arabia, so the Qur’an never addresses this modern category directly.

    • Respect for diversity

      • The speaker emphasizes Qur’anic verses that celebrate human diversity in language, appearance, and dispositions. By analogy, sexual and gender diversity would also be encompassed in God’s diverse creation.

      • References an early scholar (Ali Muttaqi) who explicitly recognized people with non-binary bodies as part of divine power.

    • Thematic vs. literal (“verse-by-verse”) reading

      • Kugle advocates a thematic approach: reading across the Qur’an to capture broader messages about justice, diversity, and ethical relationships.

      • A strictly literal or word-for-word translation from classical commentaries, the speaker argues, distorts deeper meanings and can freeze the text into outdated cultural assumptions.

    • Main argument: the sin is violence, not same-sex desire

      • According to classical sources like al-Kisa’i (12th century), the people of Lut were wealthy but became oppressive. They robbed and raped travelers to prevent them from staying in their land.

      • Their actions were about domination, economic greed, and cruelty (including sexual assault), not about consensual same-sex relationships.

    • Hospitality vs. oppression

      • The Qur’an often pairs Lut’s story with other prophets (e.g., Salih, Hud, Nuh, Ibrahim) who likewise encountered arrogant, violent communities.

      • Lut and Ibrahim exemplify hospitality, protection of strangers, and care for the vulnerable—directly contrasting the people of Lut, who did the opposite (driving away and abusing outsiders).

    • Critical view of classical commentaries

      • The speaker cites Kugle’s critique of how commentators like al-Tabari used “definition and substitution,” inserting their own assumptions about anal sex into the Qur’anic text.

      • Once these interpretations (that Lut’s people were punished for “homosexual acts”) took root in “foundational” works, they were repeated uncritically for centuries.

    • Parallel with Prophet Salih

      • Salih’s people (Thamud) slaughtered a sacred camel to reject divine ethics. Nobody interprets that to mean “camel hatred” is the problem, nor that killing a camel is the ultimate sin. The deeper sin is violent defiance of a prophet’s call to justice.

      • By the same logic, focusing on “homosexuality” misses the real point: the violent defiance and abuse (i.e., rape) committed by Lut’s people.

    • Patriarchy after the Prophet’s death

      • Despite the Prophet’s challenge to patriarchal norms, many early Muslim societies fell back into them, giving rise to heterosexism, sexism, and homophobia in subsequent Islamic jurisprudence.

    • The ethical (not “legal”) aim of Qur’anic stories

      • The speaker stresses that the purpose of prophetic stories like Lut’s is primarily ethical: urging hospitality, justice, and compassion.

      • Turning it into a “legal” condemnation of consensual same-sex relationships, they argue, misses the ethical and spiritual lessons.

    • Contemporary realities

      • In some Muslim-majority countries, consensual same-sex acts are criminalized, while sexual violence (especially against marginalized groups) can go unpunished. This inverts the very values Prophet Lut exemplified.

    • A demand for justice and inclusion

      • Drawing on Kugle’s call for “an acute sense of justice,” the speaker insists that Muslims must extend their commitment to justice into sexual ethics—opposing all forms of rape, coercion, and marginalization of LGBTQ+ Muslims.

      • The sermon memorializes individuals like Sarah Hegazi and others harmed by homophobia, urging imams and leaders to denounce prejudice.

    • The speaker calls for ijtihad (re-interpretation) that centers Qur’anic themes of justice, diversity, and compassion.

    • They argue that the story of Lut is about condemning rape, oppression, and the abuse of vulnerable travelers, not about outlawing consensual relationships between people of the same gender.

    • By adopting a thematic, ethically grounded reading of the Qur’an—and by recognizing that patriarchal biases have distorted earlier commentaries—contemporary Muslims can affirm that sexual and gender diversity is part of God’s purposeful, beautiful creation.

Books of relevance

Books can be a beautiful way to connect with perspectives and stories that resonate with your own journey. Here are some recommendations:

Please respect the time and care that went into finding and compiling these books. Rather than copying and pasting this list into your own content, please link directly to this page. Thank you!

Memoir, fiction, and poetry by queer Shia authors:

  • A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi: A memoir by a queer Shia author, offering a heartfelt exploration of identity and faith.

  • Mehndi Boy by Zain Bandali: A children’s book by a queer Shia author, celebrating cultural heritage and individuality.

  • All the Parts We Exile by Roza Nozari: A memoir by a queer culturally Shia author and artist, weaving family history and personal exile into a journey of self-discovery.

  • Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar: A novel by a queer Iranian American Muslim author raised in a Shia religious tradition, following a queer poet in recovery as he searches for meaning through faith, family history, art, love, and martyrdom.

  • Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar: A poetry collection by a queer Iranian American Muslim author raised in a Shia tradition, exploring belief and doubt, prayer, migration, language, the body, family, and the difficult search for a relationship with God.

  • Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar: A poetry collection by a queer Iranian American Muslim author raised in a Shia tradition, tracing addiction and recovery alongside desire, shame, faith, hunger, and the struggle to survive.

  • Portrait of the Alcoholic by Kaveh Akbar: A short poetry collection by a queer Iranian American Muslim author raised in a Shia tradition, confronting addiction, loss, spiritual longing, the body, and the uncertain movement toward recovery.

  • The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse, edited by Kaveh Akbar: A wide-ranging anthology selected by a queer Iranian American Muslim editor, bringing together poetry from many religious and spiritual traditions to explore humanity’s varied relationships with God, faith, doubt, and the divine.

  • Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance, edited by Kaveh Akbar and Paige Lewis: An anthology of poems about addiction, recovery, relapse, survival, and transformation, co-edited by queer poets Kaveh Akbar and Paige Lewis.

  • The Ayatollah’s Gaze by Majid Parsa: A memoir by a gay Iranian author raised in a devout Shia family, revealing Tehran’s hidden queer community while exploring faith, family, secrecy, religious repression, and the cost of living openly.

  • How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi: A young adult novel by a gay Iranian American Muslim author, following a closeted teen who escapes to Rome after being threatened with outing and begins reconciling his sexuality, faith, family, and Iranian identity.

  • Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian: A novel by a gay Iranian American author, weaving together three generations of an Iranian family as a gay teenager visiting Tehran uncovers hidden histories of sexuality, revolution, migration, and family silence.

  • Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian: A young adult novel by a gay Iranian American author, following a closeted Iranian immigrant navigating first love, friendship, queer activism, and the AIDS crisis in 1989 New York City.

  • The Walk-In Closet by Abdi Nazemian: A novel by a gay Iranian American author about a closeted Persian man and the female friend pretending to be his girlfriend, exploring family expectations, secrecy, sexuality, and life within Los Angeles’s Iranian community.

  • Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian: A young adult novel by a gay Iranian American author, following a gay teenager struggling with grief, mental health, and the mysterious disappearance of his first love while surrounded by queer Iranian American friendship.

  • The Ministry of Guidance and Other Stories by Golnoosh Nour: A short-story collection by an Iranian-British writer, portraying queer Iranians in Iran and the diaspora as they navigate desire, religion, migration, repression, rebellion, and complicated forms of love.

  • Rocksong by Golnoosh Nour: A poetry collection by an Iranian-British writer, exploring queer desire, sexuality, survival, the body, otherness, borders, and resistance to religious and social control.

  • Exiled for Love by Arsham Parsi and Marc Colbourne: A memoir following queer Iranian activist Arsham Parsi from his early understanding of his sexuality through persecution, escape from Iran, exile, and his work supporting LGBTQ+ refugees.

  • Memoirs of a Gay Shah by Reza Farahan: A memoir by a gay Iranian American television personality, tracing childhood exile from Iran, family conflict, Persian identity, fame, and his journey toward openly embracing his queerness.

  • If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan: A young adult novel by a queer Iranian American author about two girls in Tehran whose forbidden relationship leads one of them to consider transitioning as a way to make their love legally possible.

  • Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan: A young adult novel by a queer Iranian American author, following a closeted Persian American teenager as she navigates family expectations, friendship, coming out, and her first serious feelings for another girl.

  • Darius the Great Is Not Okay and Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram: A young adult series by a queer Iranian American author, following a half-Persian teenager through depression, family, cultural belonging, intimate friendship, bisexual self-discovery, and first love.

  • I Will Grow, I Will Bear Fruit… Figs by Payam Feili: A poetic novella by an openly gay Iranian writer, offering a surreal and deeply personal exploration of male love, sexuality, isolation, and desire under repression in Iran.

  • I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani: A novel following a queer Iranian American Muslim boy as he confronts family violence, displacement between Iran and the United States, first love, Islamophobia, and the struggle to belong.

  • Disoriental by Négar Djavadi: A novel following a queer Iranian exile in Paris as she recounts her family’s history, the Iranian Revolution, migration, sexuality, motherhood, and the difficulty of belonging between cultures.

  • A Nearby Country Called Love by Salar Abdoh: A novel set in contemporary Iran, exploring masculinity, gender, sexuality, family violence, and grief through a man reckoning with the life of his late brother, a prominent queer artist in Tehran’s underground.

  • Seven by Farzana Doctor: A novel by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author, following a woman who returns to her family’s community in India and confronts buried memories, intergenerational trauma, female genital cutting, sexuality, faith, and communal silence.

  • Stealing Nasreen by Farzana Doctor: A novel by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author about a lesbian Indo-Canadian psychologist whose life becomes entangled with a married immigrant couple from her religious community, exploring desire, migration, marriage, loneliness, and forbidden intimacy.

  • Six Metres of Pavement by Farzana Doctor: A novel by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author, following a grieving Indo-Canadian man whose friendship with a queer woman helps him confront guilt, isolation, family expectations, sexuality, and the possibility of rebuilding his life.

  • All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor: A novel by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author about a bisexual Canadian resort worker exploring sexuality, intimacy, mixed-race identity, grief, spirituality, and the mystery surrounding her absent father.

  • You Still Look the Same by Farzana Doctor: A poetry collection by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author, reflecting on queer Muslim identity, ageing, desire, relationships, the body, community activism, female genital cutting, and belonging.

  • The Beauty of Us by Farzana Doctor: A young adult novel by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author, following racialized students and a young teacher at a 1980s boarding school as they navigate bullying, racism, crushes, abuse, family secrets, friendship, and survival.

  • Black Markets, White Boyfriends and Other Acts of Elision by Ian Iqbal Rashid: A poetry collection by a gay Ismaili Muslim writer, exploring race, interracial desire, migration, sexuality, South Asian identity, cultural erasure, and queer life in the diaspora.

  • Song of Sabu by Ian Iqbal Rashid: A poetry chapbook by a gay Ismaili Muslim writer, engaging with South Asian cultural memory, cinema, masculinity, migration, queer desire, and life between several cultural worlds.

  • The Heat Yesterday by Ian Iqbal Rashid: A poetry collection by a gay Ismaili Muslim writer, examining family history, exile, race, sexuality, cultural displacement, intimacy, and the emotional weight of migration.

  • God in Pink by Hasan Namir: A novel by a gay Iraqi Canadian Muslim author raised in Shia tradition, following a closeted university student and a religious sheikh in war-torn Baghdad as they wrestle with sexuality, faith, family pressure, violence, and competing interpretations of Islam.

  • War/Torn by Hasan Namir: A poetry collection by a gay Iraqi Canadian Muslim author raised in Shia tradition, interrogating Islam, masculinity, prayer, war, shame, queer desire, violence, and the struggle to reconcile sexuality with religious and cultural belonging.

  • Umbilical Cord by Hasan Namir: A poetry memoir by a gay Iraqi Canadian Muslim author raised in Shia tradition, documenting his love for his husband, their surrogacy journey, queer fatherhood, family expectations, and the creation of a loving Muslim family.

  • Bright Felon by Kazim Ali: A genre-blending work of poetry, essay, travel writing, and autobiography by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, exploring sexuality, migration, cities, family alienation, art, memory, and the search for a livable sense of self.

  • Northern Light by Kazim Ali: A memoir by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, returning to the remote Manitoba community where he spent part of his childhood to examine home, displacement, Indigenous land, hydroelectric development, colonialism, and belonging.

  • The Secret Room by Kazim Ali: An experimental novel by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, following four people whose lives converge over a single day as they confront loneliness, family estrangement, cultural displacement, intimacy, and the difficulty of creating a meaningful life.

  • The Disappearance of Seth by Kazim Ali: A novel by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, weaving together the lives of five New Yorkers after September 11 through stories of violence, war, migration, alienation, and an Iraqi artist rebuilding her life in the United States.

  • Inquisition by Kazim Ali: A poetry collection by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, confronting queer desire, the body, history, political violence, racism, identity, and the role of artists during periods of social upheaval.

  • Sky Ward by Kazim Ali: A poetry collection by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, moving between love, desire, silence, loss, the body, nature, migration, and the unstable boundaries between the human and the infinite.

  • The Voice of Sheila Chandra by Kazim Ali: A poetry collection by a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, using music and experimental language to explore voice, silence, disability, grief, protest, mortality, and histories of political violence.

  • Sukun: New and Selected Poems by Kazim Ali: A collection spanning the work of a gay writer from a Shia Muslim background, bringing together poems about queer love, migration, language, the body, political history, family, loss, faith, and doubt.

  • The Country Without a Post Office by Agha Shahid Ali: A poetry collection by a gay Kashmiri American poet raised in a liberal Shia family, bearing witness to war and repression in Kashmir while exploring exile, grief, lost homes, memory, love, and political violence.

  • Rooms Are Never Finished by Agha Shahid Ali: A poetry collection by a gay Kashmiri American poet raised in a liberal Shia family, intertwining the devastation of Kashmir with his mother’s death, the journey of returning her body home, mourning, displacement, and enduring love.

  • A Nostalgist’s Map of America by Agha Shahid Ali: A poetry collection by a gay Kashmiri American poet raised in a liberal Shia family, moving through American landscapes while returning repeatedly to memories of Kashmir, migration, friendship, longing, and the feeling of living between homes.

  • Call Me Ishmael Tonight: A Book of Ghazals by Agha Shahid Ali: A poetry collection by a gay Kashmiri American poet raised in a liberal Shia family, using the ghazal form to explore love, longing, separation, memory, cultural displacement, and exile.

  • Among the Eunuchs: A Muslim Transgender Journey by Leyla Jagiella: A memoir by a trans Shia Muslim writer and anthropologist, recounting her experiences with hijra and khwajasara communities in India and Pakistan while exploring gender, sexuality, chosen family, culture, migration, and different forms of Muslim belonging.

  • The Others by Seba al-Herz: A novel about a closeted lesbian Shia student in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, exploring desire, guilt, sectarian discrimination, surveillance, religious and family expectations, and intimacy between young women.

Book by Shia Muslims:

  • In the Country I Love by Alaa Al-Barkawi: A young adult novel by a Shia Muslim author, exploring Iraqi American identity, faith, family conflict, generational trauma, and an intense friendship between two teenage boys.

  • Books by Ziba Mir-Hosseini: A Shia scholar whose works delve into gender, law, and Islam.

  • Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards: Gender and Sexual Anxieties of Iranian Modernity by Afsaneh Najmabadi: A fascinating exploration of gender and modernity in Shia contexts.

  • Other works by Afsaneh Najmabadi

Book about gender, sexual orientation and Islam:

  • Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle: Queer Sunni scholar blends queer Muslim experiences, Quranic insights, and historical context to show that Islam can embrace and affirm LGBTQ folks.

  • Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions by by Junaid Jahangir & Hussein Abdullatif: Two Muslim scholars break down classical legal opinions and real-world stories to make the case for a more welcoming, inclusive view of same-sex partnerships in Islam.

  • Books by Amina Wadud: While not Shia, her insights as a Muslim scholar are profoundly relevant and illuminating.

  • Decolonizing Queer Migration: Iranian Voices in Exile by Moira Dustin, Nuno Ferreira, Kamran Matin, Mehran Rezaei-Toroghi, and Isabel Soloaga: A research-based book examining how queer Iranians understand and reshape their gender, sexuality, language, and identity through forced migration, asylum, and resettlement.

  • Queer and Muslim: On Faith, Family, and Healing, edited by Rahim Thawer and Maryam Khan: An anthology co-edited by a queer Ismaili Muslim psychotherapist, bringing together essays and poetry about LGBTQ+ Muslim faith, family conflict, grief, rage, resilience, spiritual belonging, joy, and healing.

  • The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys by Rahim Thawer: A practical mental-health guide by a queer Ismaili Muslim psychotherapist, offering affirming tools for navigating shame, self-esteem, relationships, body image, difficult emotions, minority stress, and queer resilience.

  • 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life by Farzana Doctor: A self-care workbook by a queer Dawoodi Bohra author and psychotherapist, offering practical reflections and exercises on boundaries, burnout, relationships, emotional well-being, community care, and sustaining a more fulfilling life.

Shia Dua’as

The du’as (supplications) of Shia Islam are rich with beauty and profound meaning. Here are some we find particularly inspiring:

  • Al-Sahifa Al-Sajjadiya: A collection of supplications from Imam Zainul Abideen.

  • Dua’a Al-Sabah: A morning supplication filled with light and serenity.

  • Ziyarat Ashura: A moving prayer of connection to Imam Hussain.

  • Ziyarat Warith: A beautiful expression of reverence for the family of the Prophet.

  • Hadith Al-Kissa: A narrative and supplication that holds a special place in Shia tradition.

For recitations that deeply move the heart, we recommend Hussain Ghareeb, a personal favorite whose voice brings these du’as to life.

faq

*

faq *

    • Short answer: No.

    • The Qur’an does not contain a clear, direct statement banning consensual same-sex relationships. Traditional scholars often base their view on the story of the Prophet Lot, but the chapter argues that this story is really about rape, aggression, and rejection of a Prophet—not loving, same-sex intimacy. Most major sins (e.g., pork, alcohol, etc.) appear in clear, categorical prohibitions. By contrast, same-sex conduct has been inferred through qiyās (analogy) from verses on the people of Lūṭ. Common references to “unnatural” behavior actually come from later Christian-influenced concepts rather than from the Qur’an itself.

    • Traditional View: The men of Lot’s tribe wanted sexual contact with male guests (angels in disguise), so some scholars saw this as God condemning “homosexuality.”

    • Progressive Muslims’ Interpretation: The story of Lūṭ’s people in the Qur’an (7:80–81; 26:165–166; 27:54–55; 29:28–29) is often used to claim “homosexuality” is forbidden. However, the text shows Lūṭ’s people were guilty of collective aggression—highway robbery, attempted rape of travelers, and other “evil deeds in assemblies”—rather than mutual, loving same-sex unions. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, a Shiʿī exegesis, further clarifies that Lūṭ’s people forced sex upon youths and travelers “to such an extent that blood would pass from the anus,” underlining the violent, coercive nature of their actions. It was coercive sex (attempted rape) by men who were otherwise heterosexual and married to women. Their real sin was using sexual violence to challenge Lot’s authority and reject his prophethood.

  • Classical fiqh uses liwāṭ to mean anal penetration between two males, usually in a context of force, exploitation, or a pathologized “passive” partner. Historically, it mostly concerned beardless youths, male slaves, or coercive settings. This is very different from two consenting adults in an equal partnership today.

  • Classical (and many modern) exegetes, Sunnī and Shīʿī, see these verses as referring to heterosexual “fāḥisha”—like adultery or prostitution. A minority interprets them to include same-sex acts, but that still describes nonconsensual or extramarital contexts—not a legal union of equals.

    Shiʿī Example:

    • Ṭabāṭabāʾī (d. 1920) states these verses were abrogated by Qur’an 24:2, which prescribes 100 lashes for zinā. He quotes al-Bāqir (d. 733) on how early Muslim women found guilty of sexual misconduct were confined to their homes, indicating the verse concerns heterosexual wrongdoing.

  • Conservative rulings rely on analogy between the people of Lūṭ and any same-sex couple because both involve “anal intercourse.” However, the Qur’an highlights that Lūṭ’s people practiced robbery and violent rape, not loving, consensual relationships. Hence that analogy fails—they are not the same situation.

    Shiʿī Perspective:

    • Even Shīʿī legal works mostly concur that Lūṭ’s story involves coercive acts—thus the sin is exploitation, not an affectionate same-sex union.

    • No.

    • All men, women, and children of Lot’s tribe were destroyed, but not all of them committed same-sex acts. They were punished for rejecting God’s message, engaging in robbery and abuse, and disrespecting their Prophet.

  • Some interpret verses like “those of your women who commit immorality” (Q. 4:15–16) to refer to lesbian acts. However:

    • The text is ambiguous and could be talking about non-sexual wrongdoing (like fraud or theft).

    • There is no unequivocal verse specifying “homosexual acts” for punishment.

    • Possibly, yes.

    • Certain verses discuss people who “have no desire for women” (Q. 24:31) or “women who do not wish for marriage (sex with men)” (Q. 24:60). Some Muslims interpret these as acknowledging non-heterosexual orientations without condemnation.

    • Also, the Qur’an says God creates diversity: some people reproduce, some do not (Q. 42:49–50). This might include LGBTQ+ identities.

    • Classical rulings often rely on interpretations of pre-Islamic events (like Lot’s story) or hadith reports that do not come directly from the Qur’an’s clear text.

    • The Prophet Muhammad never ordered a punishment for consensual same-sex acts in any confirmed hadith.

    • The Qur’an itself sets a higher priority on justice, mercy, and standing with the oppressed—which many believe can include LGBTQ+ Muslims.

    • Liberation theology emphasizes freeing oppressed groups by returning to core scripture.

    • In Islam’s early history, the Prophet helped marginalized people (like slaves, orphans, women).

    • LGBTQ+ Muslims see themselves as a similarly marginalized community, using the Qur’an’s solidarity-with-the-oppressed message to claim that God supports them.

    • Sexual orientation as a term may be new, but same-sex attraction has existed everywhere.

    • Scott Kugle stresses that homosexuality is not simply a “foreign import.” It’s a natural variation of human sexuality found in all societies, including early Islamic times (though often unacknowledged by name).

    • No direct Qur’anic ban on consensual same-sex relations.

    • Story of Lot concerns rape and violence, not loving relationships.

    • Verses that mention people “exempt” from opposite-sex desire may include LGBTQ+ individuals.

    • Islam’s overarching principles (justice, mercy, respect for human dignity) support non-harmful relationships.

    • Liberation theology frames LGBTQ+ Muslims as an oppressed minority deserving acceptance and community support.

  • Some Shīʿī jurists, such as al-Yazdī (d. 1919), allow an intersex person to marry whomever matches their inner (psychological) gender. This means if the person feels like a man, they can marry a woman; if they feel like a woman, they can marry a man. Shīʿī law thereby recognizes a person’s inner disposition, not solely outward anatomy, in determining eligibility for marriage.

  • This term (sometimes used by the late Grand Mufti Sayed Ṭanṭāwī and others) describes individuals whose internal gender sense does not match their external anatomy. Shīʿī jurists who accommodate “psychological intersexuality” allow medical procedures (including gender reassignment) if it resolves genuine distress and aligns an individual’s body with their innate gender identity.

  • Yes. Shīʿī jurisprudence generally applies the principle “permissible unless explicitly prohibited” and often relies on medical evidence in cases of gender dysphoria. This has led to pioneering fatwas in Shīʿī-majority contexts (e.g., Iran) allowing GRS for individuals who demonstrate a consistent, credible need to align their physical and psychological gender.

    • They can claim they are not violating any explicit Qur’anic law.

    • They can practice Islam wholeheartedly, seeing themselves as part of the faith’s diversity.

    • They often stand in solidarity with other marginalized groups—reclaiming Islam’s emphasis on justice and compassion.

Source:

  • Homosexuality in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle

  • Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions by by Junaid Jahangir & Hussein Abdullatif

Contact us.

We hope these resources guide and inspire you as you explore Shia Islam. Remember, this is your journey, and we’re honored to be part of it in some small way. Feel free to reach out with questions or share your reflections—we’ll try to help as much as we can. However, please note that we are not scholars or sheikhs, just regular people sharing our experiences, so we kindly ask that you refrain from asking scholarly or theological questions that we may not be equipped to answer.