There is no punishment in Islam for private acts

The Holy Quran says that if I can’t convince you that my way of living is the right one, you live the way you want to and I’ll live the way I want to.

The Holy Quran, in a small chapter, Surah 109, presents us with a conversation between the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s) and the non-believers. The summary of this conversation is that I can’t convince you to live the way I say, and you’ll never be able to convince me to live the way you say. So you live the way you want to and I’ll live the way I want to. This applies to all our actions in our private lives, including same-sex relationships. Islam does not condone them but in the light of the above verses, it does not deny people the right to choose the way they live. Elsewhere it says that no one should be forced to follow a path they don’t want to because the right and the wrong path are clear.

Islamic teaching also, by impressing it upon the believers that houses should be entered from the front door and that the visitor should seek the householder’s permission before entering, effectively forbids snooping into people’s lives (for which see 24:58 and 2:189).

In the light of these teachings of the Holy Quran, how can it be right for the government of Brunei to declare that people who have same-sex relationships or a relationship outside marriage will be stoned to death? How will the authorities determine that these acts have taken place? By snooping, which is specifically forbidden in the Holy Quran? Or will they install cameras in every bedroom in their country? It is strange that the authorities should violate an injunction of the Holy Quran in order to implement another one, as they claim.

Although, in line with teachings of all religions, we disapprove of such behaviour, we believe that those concerned are answerable to Allah and not to other human beings. He is a sufficient judge for us all. And we urge the government of Brunei not to succumb to extremist pressure and enact such legislation.

In conclusion, it remains to point out that there is a lack of justification in Islam for any law imposing a death penalty for adultery, whether by stoning or otherwise, and for this we would refer readers to the handbook The Religion of Islam by the pioneer translator of Holy Quran, Maulana Muhammad Ali.

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The Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaʻat Islam) was established in Lahore in 1914 to promote the informed understanding of Islam in the West. In the UK it operated the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking until the early 1960s. Its new headquarters is at Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, HA0 4JQ, UK. In 1924, in Berlin, it built the first mosque in Continental Europe of the modern era. The German Government recognises the Berlin Mosque as part of the German national heritage. From its European and other centres around the world this organisation has taught that Islam promotes peace, harmony and mutual respect between all communities and nationalities.

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