What Does the Quran Say About Homosexuality?

Across at least seven distinct passages — from Surah Al-A'raf to Surah Al-Ankabut — Allah recounts the story of Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) and explicitly identifies the sexual practice of his people as a grave moral violation.  ) in the Shariah. The Quran states that homosexual acts are forbidden in Islam, representing one of the major sins (kaba'ir) in the Shariah.  (the gravest immorality) and documenting the divine punishment that followed.  , with this ruling supported by full scholarly consensus since the era of the Companions.  The story of Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) appears repeatedly in the Quran, making it one of the frequently cited moral lessons in the entire scripture. This repetition is itself significant; when Allah returns to an account multiple times, it signals the weight of its lessons. The account of People of Lut unfolds across Surah Al-A'raf (7:80–84), Surah Hud (11:77–83), Surah Al-Hijr (15:58–77), Surah Ash-Shu'ara (26:160–175), Surah An-Naml (27:54–58), Surah Al-Ankabut (29:28–35), and Surah Al-Qamar (54:33–39). Prophet Lut was sent specifically to a people who had introduced a practice — male intercourse with male — that had never existed among any previous civilization. The Quran describes his address to them in Surah Al-A'raf:   )   ) Allah sent Prophet Lut to the people of Sodom to call them away from their wickedness. They used to have sexual intercourse with males instead of females. Never before the people of Lut did a male have sex with another male.  Learn More About Islam Discover the beauty, teachings, and wisdom of Islam in a clear and welcoming way. Start exploring and deepen your understanding today. Some may wonder whether the story of Lut's people is merely historical rather than a binding Quranic ruling. The answer lies in how the Quran repeats and contextualizes the condemnation across different surahs revealed at different periods. In Surah An-Naml, Allah recounts:   ) And in Surah Al-Ankabut:   ) , making it "the immorality" rather than simply "an immorality." This linguistic precision is not accidental.  , one immorality among others.  — the definite form — signaling that this act represents the fullest concentration of moral corruption. This grammatical point illuminates why this act among the most serious of the major sins. The Quran documents the divine punishment that followed their persistent refusal, making it a vivid warning for all generations:   ) Imam Ibn Kathir notes that the angels who descended upon Prophet Lut's household were Jibreel, Mika'eel, and Israfeel (peace be upon them), sent precisely to execute this divine decree.  The combination of punishments was unlike any that had been sent upon another nation: blindness first struck the transgressors when they attempted to reach the guests in Lut's home, then a thunderous cry, then the complete overturning of the cities, and finally a rain of marked stones. Surah Al-Hijr adds:   ) The severity of this punishment — described across multiple surahs — communicates through narrative what the prohibitive verses establish through command. The Quran builds both the evidential and the experiential case simultaneously. — approaching men sexually) as the defining transgression.  Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Tabari, Imam al-Qurtubi, and every other recognized master of Quranic tafsir identified the act of male same-sex intercourse as the central sin of Lut's people, with other crimes — such as public lewdness and highway crime mentioned in Surah Al-Ankabut — as additional transgressions layered upon the primary one. Responsible engagement with Islamic scholarship requires drawing on authentic Islamic sources and the established tradition, rather than reading modern agendas backward into the Quranic text. Learn More About Islam Discover the beauty, teachings, and wisdom of Islam in a clear and welcoming way. Start exploring and deepen your understanding today. , we understand that questions about Islam often arise from genuine curiosity and a sincere search for truth. This topic — like many others — deserves careful, honest, and grounded answers drawn from authentic scholarship. , where every article is crafted to serve your understanding with integrity. If you have personal questions about Islam, are considering taking your Shahada, or simply want to continue this conversation in a safe and welcoming space, we are here: program — a four-stage curriculum designed to walk you through Islam at a pace that builds genuine conviction: Over 114,000 new Muslims across 140 countries have walked this path. It is waiting for you. . — the gravest immorality — and documenting the unprecedented divine punishment that followed the people of Lut's persistence. Across all four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, scholars from the era of the Companions through the present have maintained complete consensus that these acts are among the most serious of major sins. Every human being who has committed any sin stands at the door of Allah's mercy through sincere tawbah. The Islamic tradition holds the prohibition of the act and the possibility of divine forgiveness together — both rooted in the Quran, both essential to a complete understanding of what Allah has revealed. ) on the prohibition itself across any generation of Islamic scholarship. — a condemnation of the act, not only its context.