The Suffering of Intersex People Under Unjust and Illogical Islamic Teachings

Narrated Um Salama: The Prophet (ﷺ) came to me while there was an effeminate man (Arabic: مُخَنَّثٌ) sitting with me, and I heard him (i.e. the effeminate man) saying to `Abdullah bin Abi Umaiya, "O `Abdullah! See if Allah should make you conquer Ta'if tomorrow, then take the daughter of Ghailan (in marriage) [Our Comment: It is not about marriage, but about raping her as slave, and the English translator showed another dishonesty by calling it a MARRIAGE] as (she is so beautiful and fat that) she shows four folds of flesh when facing you, and eight when she turns her back." The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, "These (effeminate men) should never enter upon you (O women!)." Ibn Juraij said, "That effeminate man was called Hit." Narrated Hisham (the sub-narrator): The above narration and added extra, that at that time, the Prophet, was besieging Taif.

4069. It is related from Umm Salama, "The Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, visited me when there was a hermaphropdite with me and heard him say to 'Abdullah ibn Umayya, 'O 'Abdullah! If you think that Allah will let you conquer tomorrow, then you must have the daughter of Ghaylan. She has four folds facing you and eight with her back to you.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Do not let those people visit you (women).'" Ibn Jurayj said, "The hermaphropdite was called Hit." This is related from Hisham who added, "He was besieging Ta'if on that day."

(2) Muhammad further ordered to separate them from their families, and then Exile them ALL from the city 

Muhammad didn't stop asking Muslims to expel poor intersex people from their homes. But he went further and he asked Muslims to:

• Separate intersex people from their parents and families. 
• And then exile them from the city to the desserts. 

Thus, poor intersex people were forced to live in isolation, akin to solitary confinement, regardless of their innocence or whether they had committed any crime.

Sunan Abi Dawud, 4107and 4109:

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: A mukhannath (eunuch) used to enter upon the wives of Prophet (ﷺ). They (the people) counted him among those who were free of physical needs. One day the Prophet (ﷺ) entered upon us when he was with one of his wives, and was describing the qualities of a woman, saying: When she comes forward, she comes forward with four (folds in her stomach), and when she goes backward, she goes backward with eight (folds in her stomach). The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Do I not see that this (man) knows what here lies. Then they (the wives) observed veil from him.

... He (the Prophet) exiled him and he lived in a desert (outside Medina).

Grade: SAHIH (Albani)

Note: There is again distorting of the word مُخَنَّثٌ by the Muslim English Translator of Sunnan Abu Dawud, where he translated it to "Eunuch", which is a dishonest translation and a distortion تحریف.

(3) Their Only Option to Survive Was to Beg for Food

Muhammad prohibited intersex people to earn their living with dignity. Muhammad only allowed them to enter the city twice, and only to beg for food. 

Sunan Abi Dawud 4110:

.. (when Muhammad exiled that intersex person in the above mentioned narration, then he was told) Messenger of Allah, in that case he will die of starvation. So he allowed him to visit (the city) twice a week so that he might ask for food and go back.

Grade: SAHIH (Albani)

It is noteworthy that Muhammad’s treatment of intersex people was harsher than that of beggars. While a typical beggar was allowed to beg daily and remain within the city (with his family and friends), an exiled intersex person was permitted to beg only twice a week and had to leave the city after each visit. He is totally left on the mercy of other people. If he doesn't get enough food through begging, then he has to starve for the rest of the week. 

(4) When a Human Identity Becomes an Insult: The Peak of Islam's Hatred against intersex people

Sunan Ibn Majah 2568: 
Chapter: The Legal Punishment For Slander:
It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “If one man says another: 'O effeminate one!' give him twenty lashes. And if one man says to another: 'O homosexual!' give him twenty twenty lashes.”

Think about this that a person’s natural identity, something they never chose, is turned into a weaponized insult in Islamic tradition. The Prophet of Islam didn’t just allow this, but he normalized it by making these words so offensive that uttering them could lead to 20 lashes.

This is not protection. This is not respect. This is hatred institutionalized. When society labels “intersex” or “homosexual” as curses, it sends a brutal message:

“These identities are shameful, disgraceful, and worthy of punishment.”

Instead of compassion for people born different, Islam stamped their existence as something so disgusting that merely being compared to them became a crime. How can any faith that claims mercy treat human diversity as filth?

Apologists' Excuse: It Was a Crime to Describe the Beauty of a Woman

Muslim Preachers blame that the Intersex person (i.e. Hit) was committing a CRIME by describing the beauty of that woman to another man, for which he was punished.

Firstly:

How can describing the beauty of a woman be considered a crime when Islamic Sharia itself mandates that slave and prisoner women be paraded in public with exposed breasts and stomachs? These women were also sold in semi-naked states at slave markets, where Muslim customers were allowed to touch their private parts too.

• Article Reference: Islam Prohibited Hijab for Slave Women and kept their Breasts Naked

Moreover, the Muslim warriors were going to make captured woman slaves, and then abuse them sexually (i.e. to rape them) for their entire lives. Muhammad had no complaint about this because he made it lawful for his warriors.

When a beautiful captured woman named Safiyya was described to Muhammad, he took her for himself in exchange for seven slave girls. This is mentioned in Sahih Muslim, 1365e.

Therefore, the question is simple. Islam itself sells the bodies of half naked slave women openly in the market. Their bellies and chests are naked, and buyers touch them like sheep and goats. Was the crime of this intersex person named Hit bigger, or is the crime of Islam bigger because it stands them naked in markets and allows their sexual abuse?

If we judge by humanity, describing the body shapes of a helpless captured woman was an immoral act by Hit. However, the punishment given by Muhammad was not based on respect for women or humanity, because Islam itself gave a free license to sell these captured women in a semi-naked state in the slave markets. 

Therefore, this intersex person Hit was not punished to protect human rights. The reason was a personal fear. The fear was that a person who reveals the body secrets of outside women could also describe the features of Muhammad's own family women to outside men tomorrow. This means the standard for a woman's honour in Islam is not humanity. The standard is only who owns the woman. If she is a captured slave woman, her whole body is lawful for display in the market. But if she belongs to the family, then just mentioning her beauty is enough to destroy the life of an innocent person.

Note: On an ethical level, Muhammad should have given strict instructions to his warriors not to talk about or listen to the beauty of women. Instead, Muhammad punished Hit. He did not ban the warriors from listening to the beauty of these women. He gave them the right to capture them in wars and abuse them sexually.

Secondly:

Additionally, if describing the beauty of women is forbidden only for intersex people, does this not create a double standard? Are women or slave women or even male slaves subjected to the same scrutiny? According to Islamic Sharia, male slaves become “Mahram” as soon as they are bought from the market, and do not require any Hijab from their masters' wives and daughters.

• Article Reference: Double Standards of Islam: An adult male slave becomes Mahram as soon as he is bought, but an adopted son becomes a Non-Mahram for his foster mother, as soon as he becomes an adult.

So what if male slaves describe the beauty of any woman? Are you then going to expel and exile all slaves too? Or are you going to show Double Standards again, and keep the slaves in your homes, although male slaves have more LUST for women than effeminate ?

How Muslim Preachers cannot see such huge and clear CONTRADICTIONS in the system of Islam? 

Thirdly:

Instead of immediately imposing the harsh punishment of exile and solitary confinement, wouldn't it have been more appropriate for Muhammad to first teach him the etiquette and rules, making it clear that describing a woman's beauty is forbidden? 

Fourthly:

Due to the peculiar teachings of Muhammad and Islamic Sharia, Muslims have developed a deep-seated animosity toward intersex people, similar to the widespread disdain for dogs today.

For the past 1,400 years, intersex people have endured significant suffering. Tragically, even their own Muslim families often turned against them. It is incredibly painful when one's own family harbors hatred for reasons beyond one's control.

Fifthly:

We are grateful to the secular Western system for recognizing intersex people as human beings deserving of full respect and rights for the first time in history. The entire world owes a debt of gratitude to the Western system for its groundbreaking efforts in granting rights to slaves, women, intersex people, minorities, and even animals.

This secular Western system has demonstrated a form of morality that is often criticized and rejected by followers of Islam, who label it as “immoral.”

We take pride in our secular values and the moral principles they uphold.

While Muslims assert that Allah holds a monopoly on morality, the actions and teachings of Allah and Muhammad, as seen in these instances, reveal a different picture.

Understanding the Intersex person Hit: Why was he describing the beauty of a woman to Muslim men?

Muslim apologists continuously give the excuse that Muhammad's action of expelling Hit from the house was completely correct because Hit had an interest in women.

But this excuse is not correct.

The purpose of Hit was more about "PLEASING" the Muslim warriors and telling them about the women of Ta'if than just mentioning the beauty of women. This excuse ignores the social and psychological background. Intersex people were not given respect in society, and they were always forced to please powerful men for their survival.

The reality is that he knew the psychology and sexual taste of the Muslim warriors of Medina very well. They were dreaming of conquering Ta'if the next day and making the women there their sexual slave girls. Hit was merely trying to please those warriors. He was telling them how attractive the women of Ta'if were and what kind of war booty they would get after the victory.

See the extreme contradiction here. Muhammad exiled this intersex person who only painted a picture in words. But he did not forbid the warriors from listening to things that made them eager to make that woman a slave girl and get sexual pleasure from her body.