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.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ أَمَرَ رَبِّى بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَٱدْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ ۚ كَمَا بَدَأَكُمْ تَعُودُونَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "My Lord has ordered justice and that you direct yourselves [to the Qiblah] at every place [or time] of prostration, and invoke Him, sincere to Him in religion." Just as He originated you, you will return [to life] -
أَوَعَجِبْتُمْ أَن جَآءَكُمْ ذِكْرٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنكُمْ لِيُنذِرَكُمْ ۚ وَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَزَادَكُمْ فِى ٱلْخَلْقِ بَصْۜطَةً ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. So remember the favors of Allāh that you might succeed."
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّى ۖ لَا يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ ثَقُلَتْ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ لَا تَأْتِيكُمْ إِلَّا بَغْتَةً ۗ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِىٌّ عَنْهَا ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
They ask you, [O Muḥammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, "Its knowledge is only with Allāh, but most of the people do not know."
قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِۦ وَٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ مِنَ ٱلرِّزْقِ ۚ قُلْ هِىَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of [i.e., from] Allāh which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?" Say, "They are for those who believed during the life of this world, exclusively [for them] on the Day of Resurrection." Thus do We detail the verses for a people who know.