The Acceptance of Effeminates During the Prophet’s Time According to the Ḥadīth

Abstract

An effeminate is a male who acts in a manner of the opposite sex. The Qurʾān records that acts of homosexuality existed since the era of Prophet Lūṭ PBUH. During Prophet Muhammad’s time, there were effeminates present who lived amongst the Muslim society. The act of transvestism, however, is forbidden in Islam. Allah and His Messenger provided us with guidelines on interacting with such behaviours. Furthermore, Islam also enlightens us on the status of this group of Muslims. Thus, this research explains the ḥadīths of Prophet Muhammad SAW and its directives in relation to effeminates. This research also thoroughly discusses the fiqh of the ḥadīths from the scholars’ point of view. The researchers only discuss ḥadīths that are considered as ṣaḥīḥ and ḥasan. In conducting this research, the qualitative content analysis method was employed. This research will explain the acceptance of Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his companions towards the effeminates. It also elaborates the understanding of the ḥadīths according to the scholars. The researchers found that there are sixteen ḥadīths related to the effeminates, from which fourteen ḥadīths are ṣaḥīḥ and two ḥadīths are ḍaʿīf.