Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

is it prohibited for the male to do mensturbation

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Is masturbation legal?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The act of masturbation is prohibited in Islam and a sin in the sight of Allah Subhanah; thus the believers must absolutely abstain from this evil and heinous act.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter24 Surah Noor verse 30: O Prophet, enjoin the believing men to restrain their gaze, and guard their private parts. This is a more righteous way for them. Allah has knowledge of whatever they do.

Allah has commanded the believers to lower their gaze, and guard their chastity. This is a more righteous way for them. The act of ‘zina’ (fornication or adultery) is a great sin in Islam. The Prophet(saws) warned the believers against committing ‘zina’ of the eyes, ‘zina’ of the feet, ‘zina’ of the hands, etc. If one’s eyes are constantly watching sexual movies, magazines, etc. it would be considered ‘zina’ of the eyes. If one goes to the place to commit ‘zina’ or to the place of sexual movies, magazines, etc., it would be considered ‘zina’ of the feet. Similarly, the act of masturbation, could be considered a ‘zina’ of the eyes, or hands, etc. It is a sin and an evil act, and must be avoided by the believers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.4 Narrated by Abdullah

We were with the Prophet (saws) while we were young and had no wealth whatever. So Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty (i.e. his private parts from committing illegal sexual intercourse, etc.), and whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power."

Thus if one is unable to control his sexual desire, he should get married, rather than get involved in committing sins like masterbation and ‘zina’ (fornication or adultery). And if one is unable to marry, he should fast, as the Messenger of Allah (saws) says, that fasting reduces the person’s sexual desire, and thus help the believer to stay away from committing sin.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan