Sex Change in Criminal Commandments

Today, sex change has become an important topic not only in medical sciences but also from a legal perspective. The issue of sex change has remained unsettled among the general public. People look at transgender individuals with contempt and consider them as having mental disorders. The law is still unclear about the status of transgender people. Islamic jurists have long considered the issue of sex change as one of the “Emerging Issues” (Al-Masael Al-Mostahdese ) and debated about its legal status. Generally, there are three main opinions on sex change among Islamic jurists: First, total rejection; Second, permissible in case of necessity; and Third, total permissibility. Imam Khomeini falls in the third group. Sex change has legal consequences in different set of crimes punishable under Islamic Law including, punishable by prescribed (Hudud), retaliation (Qisas), blood money (Diyyat) and discretionary punishment (Tazir) which have been explored in this paper.