إِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۚ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ 81
Translations
Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people."
Transliteration
Innakum lata'tunnar-rijala shahwatan min doonin-nisaa. Bal antum qawmun musrifoon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the practice of homosexuality, describing it as an excessive and unnatural desire that deviates from the natural inclination toward women. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as addressing the people of Lot (Lut), emphasizing that such behavior constitutes a grave transgression of divine boundaries and represents a society that has exceeded all limits in depravity and moral corruption.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the narrative of Surah Al-A'raf concerning the people of Prophet Lot, who were destroyed for their rejection of divine guidance and immoral practices. The broader context discusses various communities that violated Allah's boundaries, with the story of Lot's people serving as a major example of divine punishment for moral transgression.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever you find committing the act of the people of Lot, execute the one who does it and the one to whom it is done' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi). Additionally, in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet warned against the spread of immorality in communities, linking it to divine punishment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that straying from Allah's natural design and moral boundaries leads to spiritual ruin and divine punishment; it reinforces the importance of adhering to Islamic ethics and recognizing that excessive desires contrary to divine law represent a state of profound moral disorder requiring repentance and reform.