Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia Part 1: Dihyah al-Kalbi

It’s June and you know what that means – it’s Pride month. Thus, to take advantage of this month’s unwanted theme, we need to talk about something extremely embarrassing for Islam: the fact that there is significant evidence in the hadiths that Muhammad was not only bisexual, but was a cross-desser.

You read that right. According to the hadiths, the founder of the most antagonistic religion towards the LGBTQ+ community was LGBTQ+ himself. Thus, we’ll look at three of the most damning instances of this recorded in the hadiths over the course of the month, starting with the story of Dihyah al-Kalbi, (a.k.a Dihyah bin Khalifa), one of the strangest people in the hadiths.

Dihyah was a young man from Medina – about 30 years younger than Muhammad – who was known for his looks. Sahih al-Bukhari 3634 describes him as a “handsome person amongst the companions of the prophet” and it’s frequently commented upon in numerous hadiths (including the one quoted) that he looked like the angel Gabriel. For example:

Sahih al-Bukhari 4980:

I was informed that Gabriel came to the Prophet (ﷺ) while Um Salama was with him. Gabriel started talking (to the Prophet). Then the Prophet (ﷺ) asked Um Salama, “Who is this?” She replied, “He is Dihya (al-Kalbi).” When Gabriel had left, Um Salama said, “By Allah, I did not take him for anybody other than him (i.e. Dihya) till I heard the sermon of the Prophet (ﷺ) wherein he informed about the news of Gabriel.” The subnarrator asked Abu Uthman: From whom have you heard that? Abu Uthman said: From Usama bin Zaid.

 Sunan an-Nasa’i 4991:

“The Messenger of Allah [SAW] would sit among his Companions and if a stranger came, he would not know which of them was he (the Prophet [SAW]) until he asked. So we suggested to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] that we should make a dais for him so that any stranger would know him if he came to him. So we built for him a bench made of clay on which he used to sit. (One day) we were sitting and the Messenger of Allah [SAW] was sitting in his spot, when a man came along who was the most handsome and good-smelling of all people, and it was as if no dirt had ever touched his garments. He came near the edge of the rug and greeted him, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, O Muhammad!’ He returned the greeting, and he said: ‘Shall I come closer, O Muhammad?’ He came a little closer, and he kept telling him to come closer, until he put his hands on the knees of the Messenger of Allah [SAW]. He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is Islam?’ He said: ‘Islam means to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him; to establish Salah, to pay Zakah, to perform Hajj to the House, and to fast Ramadan.’ He said: ‘If I do that, will I have submitted (be a Muslim)?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth,’ we found it odd. He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is faith?’ He said: ‘To believe in Allah [SWT], His Angels, the Book, the Prophets, and to believe in the Divine Decree.’ He said: ‘If I do that, will I have believed?’ The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me, what is Al-Ihsan?’ He said: ‘To worship Allah [SWT] as if you can see Him, for although you cannot see Him, He can see you.’ He said: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me about the Hour.’ He lowered his head and did not answer. Then he repeated the question, and he did not answer. Then he repeated the question (a third time) and he did not answer. Then he raised his head and said: ‘The one who is being asked does not know more than the one who is asking. But it has signs, by which it may be known. When you see the herdsmen competing in building tall buildings, when you see the barefoot and naked ruling the Earth, when you see a woman giving birth to her mistress. Five things which no one knows except Allah [SWT]. Verily, Allah, with Him (alone) is the knowledge of the Hour up to His saying: ‘Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).’ Then he said: ‘No, by the One who sent Muhammad with the truth, with guidance and glad tidings, I did not know him more than any man among you. That was Jibril, peace be upon you, who came down in the form of Dihyah Al-Kalbi.'”

 Ash-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyah 13:

On the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abdi’llah, that Allah’s Messenger said (Allah bless him and give him peace):

“The Prophets were presented to me, and there was Moses (peace be upon him), a specimen of the men of distinction, as if he were among the men of pure lineage and manly virtue [shanu’a]. I also saw Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is ‘Urwa ibn Mas’ud. I also saw Abraham (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is your Companion (meaning himself). I also saw Gabriel (peace be upon him), and the nearest I have seen in resemblance to him is Dihya.”

 This raises several questions. First of all, why would Gabriel be so vain as to appear in the form of the most handsome man in Arabia? Why not – as an angel – appear in a human form more beautiful than Dihyah if Gabriel was so intent on looking good?

Second, why appear as Dihyah at all when all it would do is just cause confusion? After all, in one account by Ibn Kathir, Gabriel passed by some people and when asked about it, they thought Dihyah had passed them. A similar account is also provided by Ibn Hisham. Wouldn’t it be easier if Gabriel appeared to people as a different dude?

Third, why would Gabriel appear to Muhammad as Dihyah? Why not appear to the prophet of Islam in his usual form? We know from Surah 53:5-18 and numerous hadiths about the revelation of this verse that Muhammad had seen Gabriel’s true form, so why didn’t Gabriel just go with that form?

Now, while the descriptions of Dihyah’s looks alone and the suspicious nature of Gabriel’s appearances as Dihyah don’t prove that Muhammad was bi, it does make this next hadith very suspicious. According to Sahih al-Bukhari 3227,  Sahih al-Bukhari 5960,  Sahih Muslim 2104a,  Sunan Abi Dawud 4157, Sahih Muslim 2105, Sunan Abi Dawud 4158, and other sahih (authentic) hadiths, Gabriel had promised to visit Muhammad at some point during the night. Muhammad waited, but Gabriel never showed up. Later, when Muhammad saw him again, Gabriel explained that he was prevented from coming into the house because there was a dog.

Already, this is very suspicious. Why would Gabriel be meeting Muhammad at night? And why would he be afraid of a dog when, if we’re to believe the Bible, angels aren’t afraid of animals at all?

Well, if we put together all the evidence that “Gabriel” was actually Dihyah al-Kalbi and take a closer look at this story, we can see that this likely wasn’t so much an angelic visit as a homosexual rendezvous. Why else would Dihyah, posing as Gabriel be coming to Muhammad’s house at night and be unable to enter because there was a dog? Likely, he was trying to be sneaky about it and didn’t want the dog barking, alerting everyone to his prescence.

Additional information that makes this story even more suspicious is that it was “Gabriel’s” tendency to visit Muhammad every night during Ramadan. Sahih al-Bukhari 3220 records:

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to be more generous in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel used to meet him. Gabriel used to meet him every night in Ramadan to study the Holy Qur’an carefully together. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) used to become more generous than the fast wind when he met Gabriel.

This event isn’t a standalone narration. Similar accounts are found throughout the hadiths, many of them sahih. I guess this was the original “study session,” if you catch my drift. The fact that this happened during Ramadan at night when the ban on fasting from food, drink, and intercourse was over makes this even more suspicious. It conveniently provided a religious cover for Muhammad and Dihyah while also allowing them to be together as everyone else was busy partying.

But trust me. This is only scratching the surface. We have yet to talk about Muhammad running around in Aisha’s mirt or the infamous night of al-Zutt.

Until next time,

M.J.