Mukhannathun
Mukhannathun ( "effeminate ones", "ones who resemble women", singular "mukhannath") was a term used in Classical Arabic to refer to effeminate men or people of ambiguous sex characteristics who appeared feminine or functioned sexually or socially in roles typically carried out by women. "Mukhannathun", especially those in the city of Medina, are mentioned throughout the hadith and in the works of many early Arabic and Islamic writers. During the Rashidun era and first half of the Umayyad era, they were strongly associated with music and entertainment. During the Abbasid caliphate, the word itself was used as a descriptor for men  employed as dancers, musicians, and/or comedians. In later eras, the term "mukhannath" was associated with the receptive partner in gay sexual practices, an association that has persisted into the modern day. "Khanith" is a vernacular Arabic term used in some parts of the Arabian Peninsula to denote the gender role ascribed to males and occasionally intersex people who function sexually, and in some ways socially, as women. The term is closely related to the word "mukhannath". Etymology. The origins of the term "mukhannath" are disputed. The 8th-century Arab lexicographer Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi connected "mukhannath" to "khuntha , meaning hermaphrodite/intersex. According to the 9th-century Arab lexicographer Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām, the term mukhannath" instead derives from the verb "khanatha", meaning "to fold back the mouth of a waterskin for drinking", indicating some measure of being languid or delicate. This definition attained prominence among Islamic scholars until medieval times, when the term came to be associated with homosexuality. Mentions in the "hadith". "Mukhannathun" existed in pre-Islamic Arabia, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and early Islamic eras. A number of "hadith" indicate that "mukhannathun" were used as male servants for wealthy women  in the early days of Islam, due to the belief that they were not sexually interested in the female body. These sources don't state that the "mukhannathun" were homosexuals, only that they "lack desire". According to the Iranian scholar Mehrdad Alipour, "in the premodern period, Muslim societies were aware of five manifestations of gender ambiguity: This can be seen through figures such as the "khasi" (eunuch), the "hijra", the "mukhannath", the "mamsuh" and the "khuntha" (hermaphrodite/intersex)." Western scholars Aisya Aymanee M. Zaharin and Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli give the following explanation of the meaning of the term "mukhannath" and  its derivate Arabic forms in the hadith literature: According to one hadith, this incident was prompted by a "mukhannath" servant of Muhammad’s wife Umm Salama commenting upon the body of a woman. This comment may have convinced Muhammad that the "mukhannathun" were only pretending to have no interest in women, and therefore could not be trusted around them. This story places the incident around the time of the Siege of Ta'if. However the scholars say that this only refers to those mukhanathun who are pretending and not actually lacking desire for women. As for those who are not pretending , they are allowed to enter upon women. Early Islamic literature rarely comments upon the habits of the "mukhannathun". It seems there may have been some variance in how "effeminate" they were, though there are indications that some adopted aspects of feminine dress or at least ornamentation. One hadith states that a Muslim "mukhannath" who had dyed his hands and feet with henna (traditionally a feminine activity) was banished from Medina, but not killed for his behavior. Other "hadith" also mention the punishment of banishment, both in connection with Umm Salama’s servant and a man who worked as a musician . Muhammad described the musician as a "mukhannath" and threatened to banish him if he did not end his unacceptable career. Beyond these incidents, there are few sources elaborating upon the "mukhannathun" during Muhammad's lifetime. In later eras. In the Rashidun and Umayyad eras, various "mukhannathun" of Medina established themselves as celebrated musicians. One particularly prominent "mukhannath" with the "laqab" Tuways ("little peacock") was born in Medina on the day Muhammad died. There are few sources that describe why Tuways was labeled a "mukhannath", or what behavior of his was considered effeminate. No sources describe his sexuality as immoral or  imply that he was attracted to men, and he is reported to have married a woman and fathered several children in his later life. While he is described as non-religious or even frivolous towards religion in many sources, others contradict this and portray him as a believing Muslim instead. His main association with the label seems to come from his profession, as music was mainly performed by women in Arab societies. Tuways is described as the first "mukhannath" to perform "perfect singing" characterized by definitive rhythmic patterns in Medina. He was also known for his sharp wit and his  skill with the tambourine, which had previously been associated only with female musicians. Some scholars believe that Tuways and other "mukhannathun" musicians formed an intermediary stage in the social class most associated with musical performance: women in pre-Islamic times, "mukhannathun" in the Rashidun and early Umayyad caliphates, and mainly non-"mukhannath" men in later time periods. While many still disapproved of the "mukhannathun" in general in this era, the musicians among them were nonetheless valued and prized for their skill. Some of the more well-known "mukhannathun" also served as go-betweens and matchmakers for men and women. While Tuways  is typically described as the leading "mukhannath" musician of Medina during his lifetime, historical sources describe others who served a similar role providing musical and poetic entertainment. A man with the "laqab" al-Dalal ("the coquettish") is mentioned as one of Tuways’ pupils. He is portrayed as a witty but sometimes crude man who "loved women" but did not have sex with them. Unlike Tuways, some tales involving al-Dalal do suggest that he was attracted to men. Persecution and decline. While sporadic persecution of "mukhannathun" dates back to the time of Muhammad, their large-scale governmental persecution began in  the Umayyad caliphate. According to Everett K. Rowson, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, this may have been prompted by "a perceived connection between cross-dressing and a lack of proper religious commitment". Some sources associate the beginning of severe persecution with Marwan I and his brother Yahya, who served as a governor under the caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, while others put it in the time of Abd al-Malik’s son, Al-Walid I. The governor of Mecca serving under al-Walid is said to have “issued a proclamation against the "mukhannathun ”, in addition to other singers and drinkers of wine. Two mukhannathun" musicians named Ibn Surayj and al-Gharid are specifically named as being impacted by this proclamation, with al-Gharid fleeing to Yemen and never returning. Like al-Dalal, al-Gharid is portrayed as not just "effeminate" but homosexual in some sources. Beyond these two men, relatively little is known of the "mukhannathun" of Mecca, compared to the more well-known group in Medina. The most severe instance of persecution is typically dated to the time of al-Walid's brother and successor Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. According to  several variants of this story, the caliph ordered the full castration of the "mukhannathun" of Medina. Some versions of the tale say that all of them were forced to undergo the procedure, while others state that only a few of them were; in the latter case, al-Dalal is almost always included as one of the castrated "mukhannathun". Some variants of the story add a series of witticisms supposedly uttered by the "mukhannathun" prior to their castration: After this event, the "mukhannathun" of Medina begin to fade from historical sources, and the next generation of singers and musicians had few  mukhannathun in their ranks. Rowson states that though many details of the stories of their castration were undoubtedly invented, “this silence supports the assumption that they did suffer a major blow sometime around the caliphate of Sulayman.” By the days of the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun, the "mukhannathun" working as entertainment were now more associated with court jesters than famed musicians, and the term itself seems to have become synonymous with an individual employed as a comedian or pantomime. The Abbasid caliphs al-Mamun and al-Mutawakkil employed a famed "mukhannath" named Abbada as an actor in comedic plays. He  served as a buffoon whose act depended upon mockery and "low sexual humor", the latter of which involved the flaunting of his "passive homosexuality". These characteristics would define "mukhannathun" in later eras, and they never regained the relatively esteemed status they held in the early days in Medina. Religious opinions. The 8th-century Muslim scholar Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri stated that one should pray behind "mukhannathun" only in cases of necessity. Some 13th and 14th-century scholars like an-Nawawi and al-Kirmani classified "mukhannathun" into two groups: those whose feminine traits seem unchangeable, despite the person’s best efforts  to stop them, and those whose traits are changeable but refuse to stop. Islamic scholars like Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani stated that all "mukhannathun" must make an effort to cease their feminine behavior, but if this proved impossible, they were not worthy of punishment. Those who made no effort to become less "effeminate", or seemed to "take pleasure in (his effeminacy)", were worthy of blame. By this era, "mukhannath" had developed its association with homosexuality, and Badr al-Din al-Ayni saw homosexuality as "a more heinous extension of "takhannuth"", or effeminate behavior. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr stated that "mukhannathun" in  his era were "known to be promiscuous", and resembled women in "softness, speech, appearance, accent and thinking". These "mukhannathun" were the ones initially allowed to be the servants of women, as they did not demonstrate any physical attraction to the female body. Modern views. While sometimes classified as transgender individuals, "mukhannathun" as a group do not fit neatly into any one of the Western categories of gender or sexuality used by the LGBT community. Although they were probably not predominantly cisgender or heterosexual, it cannot be said that they were simply either homosexual males or transgender women. There was  too much variety between one "mukhannath" and the next to determine a specific label for their gender or sexual identity, and the term's meaning changed over time. Western scholars Aisya Aymanee M. Zaharin and Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli view the term "mukhannath" as referring to men who are "obviously male" and behave like women, but do not want to undergo sex reassignment surgery, in contrast to transgender or intersex people. Likewise, while some "mukhannathun" are said to have engaged in homosexuality, others did not, complicating efforts to label them gay men. According to Muhsin Hendricks: In the late 1980s, Mufti  Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy of Egypt issued a "fatwa" supporting the right for those who fit the description of "mukhannathun" to have sex reassignment surgery; Tantawy seems to have associated the "mukhannathun" with the concept of hermaphroditism or intersex individuals. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued similar "fatwas" around the same time. Khomeini's initial "fatwa" concerned intersex individuals as well, but he later specified that sex reassignment surgery was also permissible in the case of transgender individuals. Because homosexuality is illegal in Iran but transgenderism is legal, some gay individuals have been forced to undergo sex reassignment surgery and transition into  the opposite sex, regardless of their actual gender identity. Due to Khomeini's "fatwas" allowing sex reassignment surgery for intersex and transgender individuals, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. It is sanctioned as a supposed "cure" for homosexuality, which is punishable by death penalty under Iranian law. The Iranian government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate. In some regions of South Asia such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the "hijras" are officially recognized  as a third gender that is neither male nor female, a concept that some have compared to "mukhannathun".