Eunuchs
Mu'
meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As
Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy
and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
thanx a lot for your reply. you misunderstood my question. i wanted to know about the EUNUCHS OR HIJRAAS ( PERSONS WHO ARE NOT A MALE OR A FEMALE IN COMPLETE SENSE).eg males who are born without proper male organs & are feminine in nature. or persons who r born normally but had an sex change operation. they are not socially accepted in all the societys . they dont have voting rights etc & are not seen with respect. i wanted to know especialy about persons who are from birth & have not intentionaly done a sex change operation. what does the quran ave to say about them & what type of laws govern them .either rulers & regulations applicae to male or female.
i hope you have understood my question .
thanx.
(There may be
some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
I do apologize for misunderstanding the question. If I remember correctly, you had mentioned
‘gays’ in your previous question; and I understood ‘gays’ to be the
homosexuals.
Islam treats the Eunuchs as equal members of society, and considers
them a Sign from our Lord and Creator.
The people who are born eunuchs are not to be blamed or shunned by
society, as it is Allah who has created them the way they are, as a Sign and
also as a test for the rest of mankind!
Similarly, Allah creates the mentally retarded, the physically
challenged, the blind, the deaf and dumb, etc.
These are created the way they are by Allah as a Sign and a test unto
mankind, so that people may realize His Bounty and His Grace and His Mercy,
that He could have created any one of us like them, and there is nothing we
could have done to change that! Thus
it is imperative that we must be grateful to Allah Subhanah, if He has created
us in balanced form with all our senses in perfect order.
Islam does not look down upon the eunuchs in society, as their creation
and state has nothing to do with their doings.
But instead, Islam demands that we be extra polite and tolerant to these
physically and mentally challenged slaves of Allah, and be always grateful and
thankful to Allah for our own creation.
For the eunuchs there are separate laws in Shariah. There are some amongst the eunuchs who are
closer to men than women in form and nature, then the Shariah laws of men will
be applicable to them. If the eunuch
are closer to women in form and nature, then the Shariah laws of women will be
applicable to them. But there are some
amongst the eunuchs for whom it becomes difficult to determine whether they are
closer to men or women; for these the Shariah laws allow a mid-way point. For example, in the inheritance
distribution, the eunuch who cannot be determined to be closer to a man or a
woman, will get 1.5 times the distribution rather than 1.0 for the woman, and
2.0 for the man.
Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 49 Surah Hujurat verse
13: O mankind, We created you from one man and one woman, and then divided you
into nations and tribes so that you may recognize one another. Indeed, the
most honorable amongst you in the sight of Allah is he who is most pious (God
Fearing) of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Thus, in Islam, Allah has given the criteria for greatness and
honorability. It has nothing to do with
the gender of the person, but rather the one who is most Pious, is the one who
is most honorable in the sight of Allah.
These eunuchs are not mentally challenged, and thus they are equally at
par as far as their senses and thinking goes.
If an eunuch is pious and God-Fearing, then he will be honored by Allah,
and there will be no differentiation or discrimination thereof.
That is the position of the eunuchs in Islamic society and law. This only applies to the ones who are born
eunuchs and not the ones who have changed their physique and appearances to get
closer to the sex other than that in which they were created. The Messenger of Allah (saws) specifically
cursed the man who acts, talks, walks or dresses like a woman, and similarly he
cursed the woman who acts, talks, walks and dresses like a man.
And Allah Alone Knows Best and He is our Only Source of Strength.
May Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
