Hate The Sin, Not The Sinner

كَذَّبَت قَومُ لوطٍ المُرسَلينَ

إِذ قالَ لَهُم أَخوهُم لوطٌ أَلا تَتَّقونَ

إِنّي لَكُم رَسولٌ أَمينٌ

اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطيعونِ

وَما أَسأَلُكُم عَلَيهِ مِن أَجرٍ ۖ إِن أَجرِيَ إِلّا عَلىٰ رَبِّ العالَمينَ

أَتَأتونَ الذُّكرانَ مِنَ العالَمينَ

وَتَذَرونَ ما خَلَقَ لَكُم رَبُّكُم مِن أَزواجِكُم ۚ بَل أَنتُم قَومٌ عادونَ

قالوا لَئِن لَم تَنتَهِ يا لوطُ لَتَكونَنَّ مِنَ المُخرَجينَ

قالَ إِنّي لِعَمَلِكُم مِنَ القالينَ

رَبِّ نَجِّني وَأَهلي مِمّا يَعمَلونَ

The people of Lot denied the messengers. When their brother Lot said to them, "Will you not fear Allāh? Indeed, I am to you a trustworthy messenger. So fear Allāh and obey me. And I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds. Do you approach males among the worlds, And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing." They said, "If you do not desist, O Lot, you will surely be of those evicted." He said, "Indeed, I am, toward your deed, of those who detest [it]. My Lord, save me and my family from [the consequence of] what they do." (Asy-Syua’ra 26:16-169)

                The story of the Prophet Lut (PBUH) is well known. He was sent to a people who were involved in the vile and shameful act of sodomy. Despite that, Allah still calls him the brother of his people, even though they were not related by blood because we know from the Quran that Lut (PBUH) was the nephew of Ibrahim (PBUH) who had migrated to their land to preach to them. And it is not strange at all that Allah should introduce him as the brother of his people, because we all are brothers in humanity, progeny of our father Adam and his wife, Hawwa. Allah is reminding us, that we should consider those we are giving da’wah to, regardless of how vulgar and obscene their actions are, as our brothers. Only then will we give da’wah sincerely, because one does not wish for one’s brother to enter Hell, and so one will do the best one can to save him from following a path that will to Hell.

                Now the people of Lut were not just ordinary homosexuals who were ashamed and guilty of their deed. Indeed, many Muslims who have homosexual feelings today suffer from it due to no fault of theirs. Perhaps they were sexually abused as kids, or had no father figure as children, or whatever the reason may be. Many of them know that sodomy is categorically forbidden by Allah, and so if they are involved in it, they feel ashamed and guilty. The people of Lut however were proud of their shamelessness. They boasted about their vile crime and threatened to chase Lut and his family out of the city if he did not stop preaching to them. They were real criminals! Yet, the Lut (PBUH) says, “I am of those who detest YOUR DEED.” He did not say “I detest you all for your deed,” but said he detested the deed itself. Herein is a lesson for us. As da’ies, we must never hate the sinner, but only the sin. Hating the sinner will make us half-hearted in delivering the message and righting what is wrong, because when you hate someone, you don’t really care about that person’s future. “Let him rot in hell for all I care!” would be the thoughts of one who hates another. If even vile criminals who boasted about their sins and were harsh against their prophet were treated in such a kind way, then what about those who commit such sins, but are shameful and regretful of their deed? They should be treated even more kindly, since they are our brothers in Islam. They are struggling in their fight against their desires, just like every one of us, so why should they be treated any differently?

And if we think Lut was being too kind to his people, wait till you hear about Ibrahim (PBUH). When Allah asks the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and us to turn our faces towards the Ka'bah in surah al-Baqarah, He is actually asking us to remember the legacy of Ibrahim, the Prophet who cared for all people, even if they were sinners of the highest order, the evidence for which can be found in surah Hud when he argued with the angels who were on their way to destroy the people of Lut:

فَلَمّا ذَهَبَ عَن إِبراهيمَ الرَّوعُ وَجاءَتهُ البُشرىٰ يُجادِلُنا في قَومِ لوطٍ

And when the fright had left Abraham and the good tidings had reached him, he began to argue [i.e., plead] with Us concerning the people of Lot. (Hud 11:74)

Despite the lewdness of the people of Lut, the Prophet Ibrahim pleaded on their behalf. It is that kind of mercy that was also reflected in the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Thus we should ask ourselves, is our facing the qiblah in prayer five times a day, truly a facing that empowers us with the virtues of Ibrahim and Muhammad (peace be upon them both), or is it just a meaningless facing towards a direction like one lost in a desert staring aimlessly into the distance?

May Allah make us da’ies who when facing people who are involved in major sins, hate their actions but not them, so we remain sincere in our da’wah.