Does a Homosexual’s Ablution Break From Touch of the Same Sex?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I am someone who has desires for the same sex but has not acted on them, alhamdulillah. I am aware that touching the opposite sex invalidates wudu regardless of desire in the Shafi‘i School. I was wondering if this applies to the same sex if done with desire.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
In the Shafi’i School, the scholars generally hold that physical contact with someone of the same gender does not invalidate one’s ablution (wudu), even if there is desire involved.
The rulings on physical contact and its impact on ritual purity are typically specified with interactions with the opposite gender. Still, touching anyone with desire besides one’s lawful spouse is impermissible. Allah knows best. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]
Allah says: “And those who guard their chastity (lit. private parts). except with their wives or those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, for they are free from blame, but whoever seeks beyond that is the transgressors.” [Quran, 23:7]
The verse forbids all unlawful sexual acts (including masturbation) except with the wives or bondwomen. “And whoever seeks beyond that is the transgressor” also entails touching the same sex with desire, and Allah knows best.
Please refer to this crucial related answer:
Can a male fighting homosexuality touch other males?
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
