Must I Be Punished with 100 Lashes for Committing Anal and Oral Sex?

[December 23, 2021] [Shaykh Yusuf Weltch]/in Education, General Counsel

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question Summary

Must I be punished with 100 lashes for committing anal and oral sex?

Question Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Anal sex is strictly prohibited and one of the major sins. However, no matter how major the sin, if one is sincere, Allah Most High will forgive them.

Allah Most High says, “Say, ˹O Prophet, that Allah says,˺ “O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins.1 He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Qur’an; 39:53]

If you are sincerely remorseful for your action and resolve never to commit it again, be certain that Allah Most High has forgiven you. Imam al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) said, “If one repents sincerely, they should be certain that Allah Most High has forgiven him just as one is certain that the thirst of a person is removed by a drink of water.” [Ghazali, Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din]

Legal Punishment (Hudud)

See this link for a detailed answer on legal punishments. In summary, the punishment is not carried out outside of an Islamic State by an Imam; otherwise, your repentance is sufficient.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.