In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful

Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon you

What is the Islamic ruling on trans-sexuality?

Jazakumu Allahu Khairan.

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful

Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon you

Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon His kind Messenger, his family members, his companions and true followers until the Day of Judgment.

Please, kindly read the following ruling that was issued by the Assembly of Islamic Fiqh which is affiliated to the Muslim World League: "Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon His kind Messenger, his family members, his companions and true followers until the Day of Judgment. The Assembly of Islamic Fiqh, at the Muslim World League, in its 11^th meeting session convened in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, on Sunday, in the period from 13 – 20 of the month of Rajab, 1409, A.H., which corresponds to 19 – 26 of February, 1989, has discussed the issue of transforming the male into a female, and vice versa. After investigation and discussion among its members, the Assembly decided the following: First: the male whose organs of masculinity are complete, and the female whose organs of femininity are complete, are not legal to change their identities into the opposite sex, and the attempt to trans-sexuality of each of them is a crime that its doer is held liable to be punished, because it is a change of Allah`s creation, and Allah the Almighty has prohibited doing such a change, as He says, telling about the devil`s saying: "I will mislead them, and i will create in them false desires; i will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by God. whoever, forsaking God, takes Satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest", (Quran, 4:119). Imam Muslim has reported about Ibn Mas`oud, may Allah be content with him, who narrated about the prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him who said: "Allah has cursed the women who perform tattoo and the women who have tattooing performed on them; the women who perform thinning of their eyebrows and the women who have their eyebrows be thinned, and the women who split their teeth for showing beauty of their teeth, and the women who change the creation of Allah the Almighty", then Ibn Mas`oud said: "I do curse those whom the prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has cursed, and that was in Allah`s Book – he means Allah`s saying: "What God has bestowed on His Apostle (and taken away) from the people of the townships, belongs to God, to His Apostle and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; in order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. So take what the Apostle assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear God; for God is strict in Punishment", (Quran, 59:7). Second: as for those in whose organs appear the marks of womanhood and manhood together, they should be examined thoroughly, and if the masculinity marks are more prominent on them, they have the right to be medically treated to eliminate the doubtful marks of their masculinity from them, and those who have the femininity marks as more prominent on them, they have the right to be treated medically to eliminate the doubtful marks of their femininity from them, whether the treatment was done by surgery or by hormones, because this is considered as an illness, and the treatment is meant to cure and treat, and not to change the creation of Allah the Almighty. And prayers and peace be upon His kind Messenger, his family members, his companions and true followers until the Day of Judgment". Allah knows best.