Yasir Qadhi – A High School Student Asks About The LGBTQ+ Movement – Ask Shaykh YQ #240

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			assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Alhamdulillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Nabi Javad. I'm
back. Welcome back to another q&a on our Tuesday episodes and as usual please continue to send send
me your emails and your questions at ask why Q at Epic Masjid dot o RG that is ask why Q one word at
Epic messages, one word dot o RG. And please try your best to keep the questions as generic as
possible. And make sure that you just mentioned a name that I can mention online and also a place
that you are emailing are from so that I can also mention geographic location. And once again,
please do understand I cannot respond to individual emails, I Alhamdulillah inundated with hundreds
		

			of emails and I have to simply choose the ones for our broad based audience to answer here in this
lecture. So I cannot answer specific emails where else, I don't have the time to do that, along with
Stein along with Scott, in any case in Sharla today, disclaimer that this is a like a q&a that will
be somewhat sexually explicit. And so Viewer discretion is advised. And I would suggest that only
those who are above the age of 15, listen to this, or you know, if they're mature, 1314 years old,
definitely not, you know, no need for the younger children to listen to this one. So this is an
email that I got from Sister Alia, and she is graduating from a high school here in America. She's
		

			in her final year of high school shows us a teenager, a young lady. And she is saying that in her
syllabus in her school, there's a lot of discussion regarding the LGBTQ movement and issues. And in
particular, she says regarding transgender issues, to transgender issues. And she emails, you know,
saying that, she understands that, you know, Islam has its own views on the subject. And so in order
to summarize her email, she wants to know how we, as Muslims should view this entire spectrum, and
also how she as a person in a particular high school here in America, how she should interact to a
lot of her classmates are identifying with one of these letters. And, you know, she's wondering,
		

			well, what should she do as a Muslim in a high school, and in particular, she says that the trans
question has really been brought up quite a lot in her class. And there are people that identify
within this spectrum. And so she's emailing me for some spiritual, you know, advice and Islamic
illumination in this topic.
		

			Now, this is a very, very, very sensitive topic. These days, as we're all aware, these types of
discussions are easily misunderstood. And people that are very rich and powerful and famous, have
been what is called canceled because of because of saying things that are deemed to be politically
incorrect. And this shows us the sensitivities around this entire topic. In fact, many are pointing
out that these sensitivities are actually bordering on
		

			curbing or not allowing a discussion of an academic nature even and very famous professors have been
disinvited from universities simply because they might have tweeted something about this subject
that is deemed to be controversial, as we're also aware, you know, even very famous authors, the the
author of the Harry Potter series, for example, also tweeted something that was deemed to be
incorrect, and it will cause the huge, you know, debate online, and this is a subject that our
younger students our next generation is asking, and so we cannot remain quiet to be honest. And I
seek Allah's help and, and protection from an evil that might happen in the end of the day. We as
		

			especially those who have trained in the Islamic sciences, it is our duty and responsibility to
clarify to mankind regardless of the consequences, so I asked Allah subhana wa Tada for his he died
and tofield and ask Allah for his protection. In the end of the day, it is our job to clarify what
Islam says. And if we are truly sincere to the religion of Allah, then we must take in the criticism
of the criticisms and correct greatest criticizers and face the consequences, but at the same time,
that does require a little
		

			Allah does not ask us to be foolish Allah asks us to be wise and to speak in a way that build a T
Essen, which ideal home bility. He is. And I say all of this because we are also seeing a counter
reaction. And this is a preview to the entire conversation and the entire question, what we are
seeing is an entire spectrum of response to this question of the LGBTQ and how we deal with it. On
the one hand, we have some people of our faith and background, who seem to acquiesce to the pressure
around them, or maybe because they're not grounded in Islamic sciences are not really aware of what
the Shediac says, or they don't understand what Islam came with, that they feel that if popular
		

			society is allowing it, then they too should allow it. And so they fall into this, believing that
Islam justifies this entire spectrum. And that is, of course, extremely incorrect. And it shows a
lack of knowledge and perhaps a lack of commitment, even like our job is to submit to what our
Shetty has come with us what the goal of Islam is. So that is one extreme. You also have the other
extreme in which people seem to think that proclaiming the truth means that we speak in the most
vulgar manner, and in the harshest manner, and in the most unwise manner. And they think that
bravery is the same as foolishness that so that the more foolish one is, and the more harsh one is,
		

			this is what the shitty requires. And this two shows, not a lack of commitment, I would say it shows
a lack of knowledge, really, it shows a lack of experience as well, because again, generally
speaking, we find this type of mentality, in particular amongst what is typically called the
Internet warriors, because they don't do this in their own corporations. By the way, they don't do
this in actual real life. But they've take comfort in the anonymity of the internet, or perhaps in
the fact that the internet is something that they can simply type on in their computer screens, and
they don't have to deal about in the real world. And so they act in an extremely unwise manner,
		

			thinking that Islam asks them to preach the truth in a manner that is not meant to convince people,
but rather, perhaps, turns away people. And if you look at our Prophet Rupa Alayhis Salam, who was
sent to a nation that was engaged in the height of this immorality, the first nation that publicly
accepted this morality, why don't we look at the language he used, and the interactions he had with
his people, he lived in a land and in a city where this was the norm, and he must have interacted
with them and bought and sold his goods and foods and get on or got along in society. You have to if
you're living, you know, with people that you disagree with, you still have to get along with them
		

			at the social level. And when he criticized them, he used a language that got the point across, for
example, in one famous verse, he said, In nearly an early call middle, Coleen, that I am against the
actions that you do, these actions that you do, I don't like them. And so he kind of distinguished
not that not that theoretically, there is a distinguishment between the sin and the sinner, as some
Christians say, at the end of the day, we as Muslims,
		

			we don't fully distinguish between the sin and the sinner, because when the sinner commits the sin,
the sin does exist within the sinner. And so to be a little bit philosophical, there is no sin
without the sinner committing the sin. So when we don't like the sin, we're also not liking one
aspect of the sinner who's committing the sin. But we can also appreciate the good of the center as
well. The point being when you're speaking to the center, when you're interacting with those that
are involved in faction evil, there is a way and a language that it will be the most effective, and
the Shadia asks us to be the most effective, this is very clear in the Quran, and in the
		

			interactions of the Prophet sallallahu. I said with the Quraysh, that only those that are obstinate
and arrogant should we repel with a type of, you know, anger and harshness, otherwise, the general
public that is unaware of the truth of Islam, the general public that don't really know our faith,
we have to preach in the best of manners and the wisest of words. And I say this because, you know,
our problem is we have this group of, you know, disgruntled, you know, youngsters that are very
vicious in their attacks against most of the mainstream clergy, most of the mainstream preachers,
because they view the mainstream preachers as being not harsh enough. And in reality, these
		

			preachers are inshallah embodying the prophetic model, the way that we're supposed to interact and
preach and teach. You get the message across right without insulting the person that you're trying
to get the message across to. So I say all of this as a disclaimer, because our young sister is
emailing and she wants an answer. And the answers that myself and many will give will be in sha
Allah embodying the values of Islam
		

			couched in the language that the Shetty eye wants us to interact with. And I hope that even in this
there is a lesson even in this there is a a teaching moment of how we preach the truth unto others.
That was all the boycott Dima, or the introduction. Now, our sister asks that, you know, how should
we, as Muslims understand this entire trend of the LGBTQ plus, you know, movement. And to respond to
this, I began that the first thing that we should always do is, understand where these things are
coming from, what is the origin, you know, of these types of trends, because all too often, we don't
really understand that much of what is being discussed is actually relatively very recent. It's not
		

			something that was defined in most of human history. In fact, to classify oneself or to classify a
human being based upon their sexual preference is actually an extremely modern phenomenon, I want
you to understand this point, right. So all of these, the L is, you know, lesbian, G is gay, B is
bisexual. So these are, you know, your sexual preferences, who are you attracted to? Right? What
type of partner do you want to be with, to classify a human being based upon their choice of
sexuality is actually an extremely modern phenomenon. And one wonders that why is this preference
why is this part of one's identity being made to be so important that it becomes the defining
		

			characteristic, and it becomes something that you should actually have a label for, and categorize
people under? And this is something that one should also look at, in what with respect to another
phenomenon, and that is the fluidity of sexual preferences, ie it is well known and well documented,
that one's preference. So let me let me and again, this is an adult topics, allow me to a little bit
explicit here, that Allah created us differently. There's no doubt about that. And even when it
comes to intimacy, let's say normal heterosexual intimacy, some people have certain preferences over
others. I'm talking about normal married couples, right? Would you take a sexual preference? Would
		

			you take something that you were attracted to, you know, that turns you on more that you prefer a
position that you prefer, or something that you fetishize? That might be helpful, even because I
have a longer talk, you could listen to it about, you know, what is halal or what is not allowed in
the bedroom? Much of it is halal, right. But some people might like certain things, others might
like other things, and Allah has allowed much spectrum of Halal in the bedroom. Now, would it be
something that you think is normal to categorize a human being based upon their sexual preference
based upon which specific issue they like more than others? Does that make sense? I mean, it's
		

			something that I have a particular like in cuisine, I like a particular color better than others. Is
this a defining characteristic that I should be calling myself the biryani person? I like biryani
more than I like, you know, another dish? For example? Think about it. Why is this personal
preference becoming so important that an entire identity is being created out of it? Even if we were
to say that a particular person is attracted to the same or to the opposite? Is it really something
that is so more so important, definitively that it should be extracted out and a label be put on the
person that this person should identify? And if we look at history, in reality, this is an extremely
		

			relatively late phenomenon, it actually begins literally, in the last generation, or even in the
generation when I was a child growing up, basically. So it's really kind of sort of our own
generation. Of course, I'm not saying that
		

			same * intimacy is unheard of, of course, you know, back to the time of the Prophet, nobody has
done it, it was well known. And historically, I'm simply speaking historically, that generally
speaking throughout almost all civilizations and cultures, especially those of the Judeo Christian
Islamic heritage, the Abrahamic heritage, that such acts as actions were deemed not just immoral,
but actually illegal that for the bulk of history of Judeo Christian, Western civilization, and
Eastern civilization, that people who were engaging in these actions and were caught would actually
be punished by the law. This is in western lens up until relatively recent times, and the rise of
		

			this movement really began. I mean, technically, one can say that 19, late 1970s, early 1970s. But
in reality up until the 80s, mainstream society did not view these trends as being something to be
embraced. Rather, they felt that these were trends that should not be publicized. Even if somebody
is engaging in it, don't make it center of attention.
		

			What's happening behind closed doors, I mean, not everything needs to be publicized. This was the
norm when I was growing up in the 80s. And the term itself, the terms itself that were used to
describe these actions were actually pretty harsh if you like *, or burglary, or these types of
things. It was only relatively recently where a German psychiatrist invented the term homosexual, to
make it more sound more scientific. And in the 1960s, that movement embraced the term gay because
they thought that it was more positive and less shameful. And then with the advent of the women's
rights in the 1970s, the female equivalent wanted a term specific for them. So they coined the term
		

			lesbian, this term did not exist until the 70s. They coined the term lesbian from the mythological
island of Lesbos, in which apparently there was a famous poet who was attracted, she was a female,
she was attracted to women. So there's a famous poet, so they kind of crafted a term from this. And
then afterwards, in the 70s 80s, the term bisexual was also made, popular, meaning attracted to both
genders. And then once again, in Germany, for some reason, a lot of this is going back to Germany,
the term transvestite was also used when * change operations began. And this is again relatively
recent in this century of ours. Now the term LGBT was first coined, it is said around 1988 89,
		

			relatively recent I was in high school at the time. So it's not that that you know, that old and
what historically what happened was these various trends, so lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender, these various trends decided that they should cooperate together to try to achieve
respectability and normalcy in society. Because as we all know, historically, or we should know that
each of these trends is of course distinct. And generally speaking, they were not viewed as
mainstream, they were not viewed as being within the norms of morality, even if they existed
underground, they existed, you know, behind closed doors, but there's no need to popularize them. So
		

			in the late 70s, early 80s, trends, these trends decided to come together. And to become very
public, the term coming out of the closet became popular that we should tell people that we are like
this, and we should have acceptability. And as more and more trends decided to join this, this
entourage or this bandwagon, so the terms began to be expanded, until there was a point where there
was something called LGBTQ q ip to SAA. This is actually a term here, lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, pansexual, Two Spirit, androgynous asexual, all of these
are there. And then it was just decided LGBTQ IA or maybe LGBTQ plus, and the plus here means
		

			everything else, the plus here means basically, everything else now.
		

			We should be aware, and I'm speaking again to this question is asked by a teenager in high school.
So once again, I'm trying to explain we should be aware that the the the default of mankind, the way
that Allah created us, of course, is male and female. And the way that Allah created us the default
is that opposite genders attract and that marriage takes place and that within marriage intimacy
occurs, and that from that intimacy families are formed and that families become the nuclear unit of
society. This is the norm throughout all of human history, and it is it was enshrined in laws for
the bulk of human history. This normative understanding is called hetero normativity, hetero
		

			normativity and this is the claim that the default and preferred biological norm is to be hetero
sexual. Now, hetero normativity is considered to be a bad thing by modern culture. But the Abrahamic
faiths are hetero normative. So here is the fundamental clash that to say what I have just said that
the default is that God created man in male and female, and that Allah azza wa jal intended for the
opposite to attract and get married, and have children and remain intimate only within that
marriage, that to even say this is considered a type of hate speech, even to say this and believe
it. So to believe therefore, that opposites attract and that's the way it should be, has become in
		

			the modern vernacular, something that is deemed to be hateful, and that is their worldview. And
another term that you should be aware of is cisgender. And cisgender is a term that is used to
indicate
		

			state that the gender you identify with is the same as the gender assigned to you at birth. So
there's something called biological *, you're male or female. And then there's something called
Gender how you identify. And once again from the Abrahamic traditions from the Bible and the Quran,
the older New Testament and the Quran, from religious traditions, the the gender you're born into
the gender you are born with a male or female is the gender that you have for the rest of your life.
And we're going to come back to this point as well. However, once again the normative understanding,
biologically and
		

			religiously, is now being challenged. And to make this statement, once again is being deemed to be
hate speech. So to be hetero normative, or to be promoting cisgender ism, these are all technical
terms. That basically means you are biologically saying what most of mankind said for the bulk of
its history. But to to, to claim this is to somehow be a part of the hateful movement against the
rest of mankind, what we are being taught and perhaps you know, this is something your syllabus is
also teaching you is that
		

			the notion of heterosexuality being the norm is something that has been reinforced via social
beliefs, politics, religion, policies, and media, and that it is time to challenge this, this is
what the new movement is saying, that we have to challenge this notion of hetero normativity. And we
should try to shake up this reality and understand that gender is something you have the right to
choose, you can adapt to any of this spectrum, because you are an individual that is free to make
any choice that you want.
		

			Now, this is of course, something that we as Muslims, frankly disagree with, and we say that Allah
azza wa jal very clearly in the Quran says that He created you from a male and female and from these
two he spread forth multitudes of men and women by thermen humare JAL and Kathy Ron, one Isa, and
Allah subhanho wa Taala says in the Quran, that while Ottoman Noma fotball Allahu be he BattleBlock
Mala bow literally Giardino Cebu, Mactan Cebu well in isa in a symbol mimic the seven that do not
desire to have what Allah has given the each over the other and this is the verse is about genders.
And Allah is saying that do not be, do not be delirious, do not want to have the perks and blessings
		

			of the other each one has literally Giardino see what it is in asleep. Men have their share whatever
Allah has given them, and women have their share whatever Allah has given them. So each of the two
genders has basically a type of default gender roles, and a type of default of the Shediac. Now,
again, much of these gender roles can be negotiated, they're not obligatory, but there is a default
of what is expected of the genders. And there is a default in the Shetty of what the genders should
and should not do. The entire books of Phil basically, almost from beginning to end, have minor
differences in law, about purification, you know, and about prayer rituals, and about fasting and
		

			about hedge and about inheritance and about marriage and about divorce. Now throughout all of this,
these differentiations indicate that there is a reality difference between these two genders. That
having been said, This distinction is not meant to prefer one over the other the Quran is very clear
what at the time and know that don't prefer what one has been blessed over the other men have and
women have and Allah says Bow Bow coming bow the two of you are from each other. And Allah says that
whoever does good male or female, I shall give them the reward that they deserve. And so the Quran
is very clear, men and women are spiritually equal. The two are not more or less human, they have
		

			the same potential to enter Jannah they have the same equality in the eyes of Allah as human beings.
However, Allah created men and women biologically different psychologically different
physiologically different intellectually and emotionally. Each one has perks that the other does not
have. It's not that one has more than the other. No, it's that they are different. Just like we can
understand that to human beings to twins. If one goes to medical school and one goes to
architectural school for 10 years, and they practice and whatnot, their minds are going to be
different, their talents are going to be different, and therefore they're going to have different
		

			roles. Well if this is something that you can train, how about that which is biologic?
		

			embedded How about that which you're born with the XX chromosome, the XY chromosome? How about your
genitalia? How about your hormones, Allah created the two differently is it therefore surprising
that as a default, the Shetty has come with a gender norm as well, that the woman, the mother, the
husband, the father, there are certain things that they are sometimes required to do, the father is
required to maintain and pay, you know, money to the wife into the children, and sometimes it is
understood and the Shetty encourages, but does not make binding. So all of this being said, the
claim that hetero normativity and cisgender ism is something that should be opposed and is
		

			unnatural, that is their claim. For us. It is biologically and rationally and historically and
religiously the norm and there's nothing wrong with this. So one point, however, that quite a lot of
people ask is that how about, you know, people who are not male or female, and they are born with
maybe, you know, chromosomes that are in you know, somewhat both, and this is something that the
Shetty does give a slight exception to, and that is called Honda, Honda. And Honda in English is
called intersects. So, in this term, LG BT q i right, by the way, so in case somebody is not aware,
so L means obviously lesbian. And that is, of course, you know,
		

			a woman attracted to a woman or a woman being with a woman, I'll g of course is gay means male
attracted to a male B is bisexual means sometimes male, sometimes female, depending on what they're
attracted to. The term q by the way, people have done themselves different What is it over? Some say
that q should mean queer to keep the term because it was a term that was used back in the 70s and
80s. And some say q means questioning that you're still questioning all UL or rug or up or something
else. Right. So this is Q, T, we're going to come to because our sister specifically asked about T
transgender, LGBTQ i A so this eye is intersex that's what this intersex is I and intersex is the
		

			only one of this entire you know long string of letters and different letters of the alphabet, i is
the only one that the Shetty has given a certain acceptability to in that yes, it does exist what is
AI? AI is intersex and intersex is somebody who is born with biological * characteristics that
aren't clearly male or female. Now, intersex itself is a very, very rare phenomenon perhaps 1% out
of you know, so every 100 people perhaps you know, 1% would be categorized as intersex and even
within this there are around 40 Plus variations of intersex so basically little bit less than in
biology and I'm no biologist teacher so forgive me for being simple, but I don't want to you know
		

			make any mistakes. Obviously, the default of mankind 99 point something percent of mankind are
either born x x, which is woman female or x y, which is male. So, xx is female and x y is male, this
is like 99 point something percent of mankind 1% or less, they have a permutation x x y x y y x x.
So, they have xx xx they have multiple permutations which is considered to be not the norm this is
less than 1% This is intersex and there are 40 Plus such variations. Now, the majority of those born
within these variations are so trivial that they don't even know that they have an issue until they
become older and age and something happens either they are not able to have children or, you know,
		

			their genitalia is not developing normally. Or something of this nature. You know, maybe they don't
have you know, if it's a woman she doesn't have her menstrual flow when medical exam is done is
discovered, oh she is particularly like this, but they live their lives looking, acting, talking and
being one of the two genders. There is only a very, very, very small group of people. That is called
complex intersex that's very true gonadal intersex and is called that and this is extremely rare
Don't Don't quote me but I think it's 0.001% very, very rare, in which there are both ovarian and
testicular testicular tissues, you have a little bit of male and female. This is also called True
		

			hermaphroditic hormone Excuse me. I'm not a biologist. Her math ro defeatism true hermaphroditic
ism, this is what it's called. Initially I can tell you the Shadab terms with much more ease Hongfa
and Bushkill the difficult hermaphrodite This is where perhaps
		

			Both organs can be visible biologically. And this is the one category intersects overall. And the
content Michigan in particular, where the Shetty app has said that if an operation needs to be done,
then yes, it may be done that if
		

			one of the two genders, you know, can be preferred over the other than that should be taking place
no problem. And so there's some leeway given. But even for this category, the Shediac says that one
of the two needs to be chosen, and then defaulted for the shitty our purposes. So that person will
be treated like one of the two genders until they pass away. And so this is the intersex category.
And as I said, they are the ones whose actual, you know, DNA, the biological characteristics are
different, and they are not simply xx, nor are they xy, their sexual chromosomes are varied. And
that category, much can be done surgeries, if hormones need to be done, that's a very unique
		

			category. And they are known by testing and sometimes at birth. But as I said, sometimes they don't
even aware until they themselves are older. So and by the way, this term LGBTQ IA what is a, by the
way, forgot to mention a, a is for asexual, that those who don't find themselves attracted to any
sexual orientation. And if a person is asexual, there's no problem in that. So there's no need to
put it in this in this long list. A person is not required to get married, and a person can live a
life without any partner. So there's no problem from a shittier perspective to be the A in this, and
there's no need to make this any issue. If a person has no desires whatsoever. And there are, you
		

			know, few people that are like that, they may just live their lives as a single human being, or if
they want to find a partner of the opposite gender who is similar, and they are aware of the
situation. And they want to live like this no problem that is also possible. By the way, just FYI.
So this plus at the end, right? It basically means a whole spectrum of things. The last time I
checked, there's something called you know, well, I don't want to mention the website. But there are
websites out there that talk about these things for for purposes.
		

			of education, I looked I logged on to this a few weeks ago to prepare a lecture. The plus category
when I logged on last I checked, it had more than 249 different categories of them. Just to give you
an idea is pansexual. Someone who can feel sexual attraction to any person in the spectrum of them
is gender queer, someone who doesn't identify with either male or female, their identity doesn't fit
in with what society has deemed male, or female, have them as gender fluid, someone who feels their
identity changes, depending how they feel. There's a third gender, there's a demo gender, a week, or
partial connection to one gender. So if a boy sometimes feels like a girl, that would be a demi
		

			girl, there's by gender pangender a gender and I can go on and on and on. So that plus category is
simply an indication of lots of different, you know, fine differences between this notion of how one
wants to identify. Now, my point being from the shitty eyes perspective, and I've given longer talks
about this,
		

			we look at sexuality in a very different manner. Sexuality is a gift from Allah when it is used
properly. And it could be a test if it is used improperly. And the fact that we have sexual desires
is normal, there's nothing wrong with that. And Allah created us upon the default, and the default
is to be attracted to the opposite gender. And we're supposed to control that default until we get
married, and use that sexual energy to solidify the marriage and to have children and to maintain a
happy bond between couples. That's the ideal and the norm, does not mean that no alternatives exist.
Of course, they do exist. And throughout human history, there have been aberrations, these
		

			aberrations don't need to become the norm, nor should they need to be publicized more than it needs
to. And if a person falls into one of them, and commits a sin that is between that person and Allah,
they don't need to make a normative tradition about it. There are things that happen that shouldn't
happen, adultery happens, it shouldn't happen. If it does happen. Should we go and publicize it?
Should we make a category of people these are the adultery people and they're identifying as
adultery people, and we want people to accept them because they're engaging in adultery. You know,
sometimes if an indiscretion happens, we ask Allah for forgiveness that's between us and Allah, but
		

			to propagate it like adultery, let's make adultery the norm. Let's say Right, let's make this
something a part of this entire spectrum. Let's put a category for those that commit adultery. Why
should anybody just respect its consenting adults? Our society has not yet deemed adultery to be
acceptable. So it's not on this list. We understand it doesn't make any sense to publicize this
attic as a category we should understand. The same applies to every other aspect, especially
		

			The LGBTQ s for intersex is beyond their control. As I said, it's not something that anybody should
be ashamed of a look, you know, created on that way, and they're able to allow surgery or whatnot.
So our sister asks about the gender, the term t, in particular transgender. And transgender is a
very broad term. And it has underneath it many categories. But the main aspect that unites all of
them is that a transgendered person is not content with their biological * that they're born into,
as I said, that movement differentiates between gender and *. So you're born with a biological *
male or female, then they say, you might identify with a gender as you grow up, you can choose your
		

			gender, As for us, your gender should be the same as your biological *. If Allah created you, you
know, xx, or Allah created you x y, then your gender and your * are either male or female. And for
only the intersex people that less than 1%, we can, you know, do surgeries if need be, or take
hormones, or whatever. And we will ascribe them to one of the two categories for the purposes of
this world for the purposes of legal rulings for the purposes of inheritance and whatnot. Now, so as
we said, transgender is a broad term. And it basically means that a person wants to choose a gender
that is not the same as their as their biological gender. So transgender is the opposite of
		

			cisgender cisgender, you're born male, you want to be a male, you're born female, you want to be a
female, and for us Abrahamic traditions, we think that is the normative tradition. As for
transgenderism, there's three different things. And again, I'm being very simplistic because this is
not the time to go to a lot of detail. There's three aspects we can look at, number one, gender
dysphoria, number two, gender expression, and number three, gender transition, this is going to be
the three things, gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria, is the belief that biological *, and the
gender that you assume are not matching up. So you're born male, but you feel female, you're born
		

			female, but you feel male. Okay? Gender Dysphoria is that the biological * you were born into,
does not match the way you feel and you want to be treated, and your internal perception. And gender
dysphoria in and of itself, is something that the Shetty, I would classify as feelings. And as I
have said many times, feelings in and of themselves are not going to be held accountable, nor shall
they be sinful. Even a person who has same * feelings or is not going to be punished for those
feelings, feelings will not get you punished by Allah subhanho wa taala. It's doing more than
feelings. So perhaps at some level, gender dysphoria is really not something that we as Muslims
		

			should consider to be anything that is said to be looked down upon. On the contrary, if a person
comes to us struggling with this, we should help them in this regard, except that ALLAH has tested
people with different trials, and this might be a particular trial for them. So gender dysphoria and
I have spoken to a number of people that have come to me with this and I have an I continue to
learn, I'm always going to say that this is something that, you know, it's not a very common
phenomenon or subculture so we will learn to interact and see. So gender dysphoria in and of itself,
we don't understand why this is the case. Perhaps there are biological factors, perhaps there are,
		

			you know, cultural factors of upbringing, whatever it might be, in the end of the day, it is a
feeling and if nothing is done to act upon that feeling, we will tell this person, our brother in
faith, our sister and faith that you know, indeed, the way that you feel is something that you don't
have to decipher the act upon and try your best to maintain the gender that you were born into.
Because our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that Allah's curse is upon the man who is
effeminate, and the woman who is masculine, the Model X masculine. So the man who acts effeminate, I
should say, not the chain, let me change the Hadith, the man who acts effeminate, and the woman who
		

			acts you know, in a masculine manner, so as long as you don't act in that manner, then this is
something that the shadow will not consider to be something sinful. The second is gender expression
in which you are male, or you are female, but you act out you dress in the manner of the opposite
gender, and this is also called being a transvestite or being a drag queen. So you might identify
even with the gender of your birth, you're gonna say I'm a male, and you're born biologically male
or female and you're born biologically female, but for whatever reason, either permanently or
temporarily, you will dress and you will act like the opposite gender, and perhaps even you will
		

			Want to identify with the pronouns of the opposite gender. And for us as Muslims, we say, that is
not something that is acceptable. And we need to curb this and not do it if we believe in Allah and
His messenger. So this is gender expression, that our Prophet system said that this is something
that this is something that the divine curse is upon, we do not act out. There are there are
characteristics and traits that are masculine, there are characteristics and traits that are
feminine. Now, if it's beyond our control, some men speak in a very soft voice. Some women have a
deep voice, obviously, this is beyond your control, but to go beyond what you are born with, and to
		

			act and dress, and be pretending to be of the other gender, that is not something that we do. And
then the third point and the final point, gender transition, which is actually taking hormones or
doing a surgery in which you physically change your organs. This is gender reassignment surgery,
this is also called a transsexual, transsexualism. And this is something that the Shetty does not
allow no fifth Council in the world, to the best of my knowledge that is so neither it is true that
non Sunni there's a particular famous Ayatollah that has allowed it, but Sunni fifth councils have
not and no mainstream scholar, there are a few voices on the perimeters that are willing. But
		

			generally speaking, this is not something that is considered to be permissible. And once again, not
every feeling and not every desire needs to be acted out. There are some desires and feelings that
are painful and difficult. Some people are attracted to alcohol, some people are attracted to drugs,
some people are attracted to other things. Some of these attractions might be permissible, if you're
attracted to the opposite gender, you want to get married. That's all permissible. Some of these
attractions are not permissible. If they're not, they must be curbed and not acted upon. So to
conclude, this is a very sensitive topic. I know much more needs to be said. But our sister from
		

			high school asked a very basic question. And so to respond to this question, we say that we need to
contextualize this movement understand that much of this movement is trying to mainstream, what
might be have existed but not necessarily been mainstream. As Muslims, we must preach the truth. But
that doesn't mean we treat anybody rudely. We treat everybody with the dignity and respect that a
human being deserves. Just because I disagree with somebody's lifestyle doesn't mean that we have to
be rude to them. We're polite to everybody. We're polite to even people who don't believe in God or
worship or false gods so you can be polite to everybody in your class. But at the same time, you
		

			know, your close friends and those whom you associate with on a more personal level, you should they
should people who have a positive influence on you, and follow the faith and the morality and the
traditions that you believe in. And also in this issue of the trans issue. We say if somebody feels
a particular way, they should try their best to control the feelings if they act upon it. That is
where things occurred that we believe are immoral, and even if that acting occurs, doesn't leave the
fold of Islam. They should repent, turn back to Allah subhana wa Tada and Allah forgives all sins,
may Allah subhana wa Tada guide all of us to that which he loves. And may Allah subhanaw taala
		

			protect all of us in our loved ones and our families. Until next time, on Lafayette Santa Monica
rahmatullah wa barakato.