Non-binary sexual and gender identities in the community

Abstract

The Maml?k jurist ?Abd al-Ra??m al-Isnaw?’s legal manual on the cases involving a khunth? (an intersex person) was comprehensive on matters of religious practice. It allows us to understand the underlying doctrinal strategies that the jurists used in regulating the khunth?’s access to public life. This article attempts to examine specific strategies that al-Isnaw? used in his legal manual’s chapter on ?al?h (ritual prayer). Through an exploration of the doctrines in the chapter affecting a khunth?’s comportment and location, I assess the possible consequences of such doctrines on the life of a khunth?. The major consequence is the khunth?’s social isolation in the name of accommodating them in a community’s mosque by providing a specific row for them. The accommodation requires outing a khunth? as such within the community space, leading to further isolation, even when the khunth? is not a singular subject within the community.