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Inquiry On Khuntha In Islam, Lack Of Direct References During The Prophet’s Time
Dear Al- Mawrid Team,
I hope you are doing well. I am researching the status of khuntha (intersex individuals) in Islam and have encountered certain gaps in my understanding that I was hoping you could clarify. My primary concern is that despite khuntha being a natural occurrence, I have not been able to find direct references from the Quran or the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that explicitly discuss their social, legal, or religious status.
I have structured my questions clearly below. If possible, I would greatly appreciate it if you could respond to each question separately for clarity.
1. Why is there little to no direct mention of intersex individuals in the Quran and authentic Hadiths?
• Given that Islam provides guidance on many social and biological matters, why does there seem to be a lack of explicit discussion on khuntha during the Prophet’s time?
• Is it possible that these discussions existed but were not widely recorded?
2. How were intersex individuals treated during the Prophet’s time?
• Were there any known cases of khuntha during the Prophet’s era?
• If such individuals existed, how were they integrated into society, particularly in matters of inheritance, marriage, and religious duties?
• Did the Prophet himself ever address such cases, or were they left to later scholars for interpretation?
3. Is the absence of discussion a sign that the classification of khuntha is open to interpretation?
• If the Prophet did not explicitly classify khuntha as either male or female, does that mean their categorization as such is a later ijtihad (independent reasoning) rather than a divine command?
• Could this imply that the recognition of khuntha as a distinct category, or third gender, remains a valid interpretation?
4. Why is all existing discourse on khuntha primarily based on qiyas and ijma rather than Prophetic precedent?
• If the Prophet’s time provided guidance on complex legal and social matters, why does the topic of khuntha seem to be mostly developed in later Islamic jurisprudence rather than being rooted in direct Prophetic teachings?
• Does this mean that Islam left this issue for scholars to resolve through evolving jurisprudence?
5. If the Quran and the Prophet did not directly define khuntha, could this mean that later scholars’ classification of them into a binary was a human decision rather than divine law?
• If khuntha were not directly categorized in the Quran or by the Prophet, then does the argument against recognizing them as a separate gender originate from scholarly interpretations rather than inherent Islamic principles?
I am asking these questions because I am trying to understand whether khuntha were simply absorbed into the existing male-female binary due to the lack of explicit rulings or whether their status was a conscious decision made during the Prophet’s time. If you could kindly respond to each question individually, I would be extremely grateful, as this would help me process the information more clearly.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this message to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Sahib or any qualified member of your research team who can provide insight on this matter.
JazakAllah Khair for your time and guidance.
Best regards,
Abdur Rehman
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1 Reply
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Inquiry On Khuntha In Islam, Lack Of Direct References During The Prophet’s Time
updated 3 weeks, 3 days ago
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In the very small communities of Makkah and Madina, eunuchs seem absent. Therefore, they are not mentioned particularly. The mention of eunuch is once reported in a hadith in which his inappropriate behaviour is mentioned.
Therefore, their problem is a matter of Ijtihad.
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