God has declared unlawful five matters within the sphere of morality—vulgarities (fawāḥish), usurpation of rights, wrongful transgression, polytheism (shirk), and religious innovation (bidʿah). In Sūrah al-Aʿrāf, He has said:
َقُلۡ اِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَب ِیَ الۡفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَہَرَ مِنۡہَا وَ مَا بَطَنَ وَ اۡلِۡثۡمَ وَ الۡبَغۡیَ بِغَیۡرِ الۡحَق ِ وَ ا نۡ تُشۡرِکُوۡا بِاّٰللہ ِ مَا لَمۡ یُنَز ِلۡ بِہ
َسُلۡطٰنًا وَّ اَنۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡا عَلَی ّٰللاہ ِ مَا ۡلَ تَعۡلَمُوۡن Say: My Lord has only forbidden lewd acts, whether open or hidden and usurping rights and wrongful oppression and that you associate with God that for which He did not send down any sanction and that you fabricate something about God that you know not.
Among these five prohibitions, the first is vulgarities (fawāḥish). The term “fawāḥish” is the plural of “fāḥishah,” which denotes blatant indecency. It refers to acts such as adultery (zinā), homosexual acts (ighlām), intercourse with animals, and other similar forms of sexual deviance. The public discussion of sexual matters and the exposure of sexual organs are likewise included within its scope. All of these are actions that human nature deems reprehensible, and whose moral gravity is universally acknowledged by the collective conscience of humankind. Whether committed in private or in public, they are prohibited in every circumstance. Thus, the revered teacher has written:
…Whether sexual immorality is committed openly or in secret, it is unlawful in every case. The plural term [fawāḥish] has been used for this reason: so that it may encompass adultery, sodomy, intercourse with animals, and all crimes of this nature. Whether sexual organs are exposed before others, sexual matters are disclosed, or sexual immorality is perpetrated—the term ‘fawāḥish’ comprehends all of these. (Al-Bayān, 2/149)
Regarding fawāḥish, everyone knows that their immense allure becomes a cause of enticement and incitement. If a person becomes inclined toward them even once, he soon becomes their captive. Gradually, they become included among his habits, after which deliverance from them becomes impossible. For this very reason, God has forbidden even approaching them. It is said:
َوَ ۡلَ تَقۡرَبُوا الۡفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَہَرَ مِنۡہَا وَ مَا بَطَن And do not go near fawāḥish, whether they be manifest or concealed. (Qur’an, 6:51)
According to Javed Ahmed Ghamidi:1
The intent of this directive is that one must refrain from all such matters that incite sexual immorality, invite toward it, or lead one into its proximity.
Imām Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī writes:
…The expression “lā taqrabū” (do not even approach) has been employed in the Qur’an to restrain people from those evils whose very shadow proves ruinous—evils that are not only harmful in themselves, but whose causes and motives are likewise extremely perilous. They cast their snare from afar and seize a person in such a wathat escape becomes exceedingly difficult. One can attain protection from such evils only by exercising full vigilance over one’s gaze, speech, and thoughts; by carefully sealing every opening through which temptation might enter; and by keeping oneself far removed from places where the possibility of slipping exists. (Tadabbur-e Qur’ān 3/201)
From the very term fawāḥish, it is evident that it does not denote any single, specific act. Rather, it is a principled expression that applies to every act in which nakedness, obscenity, and indecency are present. In the Noble Qur’an, this term has been used for various forms of indecency, each of which constitutes a distinct offense. Thus, fawāḥish is not the name of a particular crime; rather, it serves as an overarching category encompassing all crimes of indecency. Some of its forms mentioned in the Qur’an and ḥadīth include: − adultery (zinā) − homosexual acts (ighlām) − nakedness − obscene speech − incitement to adultery − publicizing adultery − marriage within prohibited degrees of relationship − marriage between an unchaste man or woman and a chaste man or woman
- Al-Bayān, 2/116.