Editing LGBTQ people and Islam (section)

==== ''Zina'' verse ====
Only one passage in the Quran prescribes a strictly legal position. It is not restricted to homosexual behaviour, however, and deals more generally with ''[[zina]]'' ([[Islamic sexual jurisprudence#Illegal sexualities|illicit sexual intercourse]]):<ref name="Muhammad Homosexuality"/>

{{Blockquote|text=˹As for˺ those of your women who commit illegal intercourse—call four witnesses from among yourselves. If they testify, confine the offenders to their homes until they die or Allah ordains a ˹different˺ way for them. And the two among you who commit this sin—discipline them. If they repent and mend their ways, relieve them. Surely Allah is ever Accepting of Repentance, Most Merciful.|author={{qref|4|15-16|c=y}}}}

In the exegetical Islamic literature, this verse has provided the basis for the view that Muhammad took a lenient approach towards male homosexual practices.<ref name="Muhammad Homosexuality"/> The [[Oriental studies|Orientalist scholar]] Pinhas Ben Nahum has argued that "it is obvious that the Prophet viewed the vice with philosophic indifference. Not only is the punishment not indicated—it was probably some public reproach or insult of a slight nature—but mere penitence sufficed to escape the punishment".<ref name="Muhammad Homosexuality"/> Most exegetes hold that these verses refer to illicit heterosexual relationships, although a minority view attributed to the [[Mu'tazilite]] scholar Abu Muslim al-Isfahani interpreted them as referring to homosexual relations. This view was widely rejected by medieval scholars, but has found some acceptance in modern times.<ref name=EoQ/>