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:

Assalamualaikum w.r.w.b.,

Alhamdulillah, I come from an Islamic family and I have recently started practicing islam strictly. Alhamdulillah, now I also grow beard. But because of my other worldly commitments I don`t get to pray 5 times a day, but still I do my best. Ok, my question is, does Quran or any hadith declare mastrubation as HARAAM? Is, mastrubating and having sexual intercourse with other person, a sin of same magnitude? Though I am, Alhamdulillah, a good Muslim, can`t get rid of my addiction of mastrubation. And because of that, I feel that I am a hypocrite and I remember, Allah s.w.t. hates hypocrites. Now, because lately I have started growing my beard, I give others an impression of being a good muslim but at their back, I do Zina ( mastrubation). Other than that, Alhamdulillah, I don`t do much of the major sins knowingly. I try my best to low down my gaze when I see people of opposite gender. Please pray for me to get rid of this grave sin and may Allah forgive me for this sin. And Can u please suggest me a ayath or something that I can recite when the idea of doing the sin comes to my mind? Jazak Allah.

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Answer:

Avoid Maturbation

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.

Your Statement: I don`t get to pray 5 times a day, but still I do my best.

My dear and beloved brother, although the prayer was not part of your question, as your brothers and sincere well-wishers in faith it is our duty to remind you as we remind ourselves of the absolute importance and status of the performance of the five daily prayers in Islam.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 20 Surah Taha verse 14:

14 "Verily I am Allah: there is no god but I: so worship thou Me (only) and establish regular prayer for My Remembrance.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:

Indeed, the salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed at the appointed times by the believers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah Ankabut verse 45:

45 Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee and establish Regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 863 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

He heard that the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: ‘The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is Prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the Angels - though He knows better: “Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly.” If it is perfect, that will be recorded as perfect. If it is defective, He will say: “See if there are some optional (Sunnah or Nafl) prayers offered by My servant.” If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: “Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant.” Then all the actions will be considered similarly.’

Jabir reports that the Prophet (saws) said, "Between a person and disbelief is the discarding of prayer."

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

Buraidah reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "The pact between us and them is prayer. Whoever abandons it is a disbeliever."

Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, anNasa'i and Ibn Majah.

Your Question: Ok, my question is, does Quran or any hadith declare mastrubation as HARAAM?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 33:

33 (O Prophet (saws)) Say: ‘The things that my Lord hath indeed forbidden (declared haraam) are: shameful deeds whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason; assigning of partners to Allah for which He hath given no authority; and saying things about Allah of which ye have no knowledge.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 90:

90 Allah commands justice the doing of good and liberality to kith and kin and He forbids (declares haraam) all shameful deeds, and injustice, and rebellion: He instructs you that ye may receive admonition.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 151:

151 (O Prophet (saws)) Say: "Come I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you from": join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents: kill not your children on a plea of want; We provide sustenance for you and for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds whether open or secret; take not life which Allah hath made sacred except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you that ye may learn wisdom.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verses 32:

32 Nor come close to or even approach ‘zina’: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil opening the road (to other evils)!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 53 Surah Najm verses 31-32:

31 Yea to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth; so that He rewards those who do evil according to their deeds and He rewards those who do good with what is best.

32 Those who avoid great sins and shameful deeds, Only (falling into) small faults--verily thy Lord is ample in forgiveness. He knows you well when He brings you out of the earth and when ye are hidden in your mother's wombs therefore justify not yourselves. He knows best who it is that guards against evil.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, although the evil and abhorred act of masturbation is not mentioned by name, each and every act of ‘fahisha’ or shameful or indecent deeds are absolutely prohibited and declared haraam in Islam. Without an iota of a doubt, the evil and abhorred act of masturbation is an act of ‘fahisha’, and every ‘fahisha’, shameful and indecent deed is prohibited by Allah Subhanah for His believers.

Your Question: Is, mastrubating and having sexual intercourse with other person, a sin of same magnitude?

Because the grave sin of ‘zina’ or having sexual intercourse out of marriage is mentioned by name in the Glorious Quran and has a prescribed punishment in Shariah, one cannot say that the evil and sin of masturbation is in the same league as the actual act of ‘zina’; but without an iota of a doubt, the evil, shameful and indecent act of masturbation is a heinous sin in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.260 Narrated by Ibn Abbas

I have not seen a thing resembling 'lamam' (minor sins) than what Abu Huraira narrated from the Prophet (saws) who said "Allah has written for every son of Adam son his share of ‘zina’ which he commits inevitably. The ‘zina’ of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the ‘zina’ of the tongue is the talk, and the inner self wishes and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny it."

Your Statement: Please pray for me to get rid of this grave sin and may Allah forgive me for this sin.

My dear and beloved brother, the contents of your letter are evident that you fear your Lord and His Accounting, recognize this evil sin as a sin, are repentant for your past deeds, and earnestly desire to abstain from it. This is precisely what the Quran terms as ‘taubah’ or seeking sincere repentance from Allah Subhanah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:

(O Prophet) say: “O My servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before the scourge overtakes you; for then you may get no help from anywhere.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:

When those come to you who believe in Our Signs, say: "Peace be on you! Your Lord had inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Your Question: And Can u please suggest me a ayath or something that I can recite when the idea of doing the sin comes to my mind?

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 masturbation 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.

‘Fahesha’ or indecency is one of the strongest weapons of the accursed enemy of man, the Shaitaan; who has sworn to mislead and misguide mankind from the Straight Path of Allah Subhanah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 268:

The Shaitaan threatens you with poverty and prompts you to adopt indecency (or acts of shamelessness). Allah promises you His Forgiveness and Bounties, and Allah cares for all, and He knows all things.

The only thing that can stop one from acts of indecency, or intentionally disobeying any command of Allah and His Messenger (saws); is the constant fear and consciousness that One Inevitable Day, everyone will be brought forth in the Presence of the All-Mighty Lord to give a full accounting of one’s deeds.

The first thing one needs to do, when he realizes that he has disobeyed any command of Allah and His Messenger (saws), is to immediately turn to the Merciful Lord and seek His Forgiveness and Pardon, and make a solemn covenant that he will not repeat the mistake again. When Shaitaan again tries to prompt the person to disobey the Merciful, the believers must immediately realize the play of Shaitaan, seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaitaan, remember the covenant he has made with His Lord, and abstain from doing any deed that will bring about the Wrath and Anger of Allah Subhanah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verses 200-201:

200 If a suggestion from Shaitaan assail thy (mind), seek refuge with Allah; for He Heareth and Knoweth (all things).

201 Those who fear Allah, when a thought of evil from Shaitaan assaults them, bring Allah to remembrance; when lo! they see (aright)!

As soon as one feels the desire, or the avowed enemy of man, the Shaitaan suggests the person to transgress any of the boundaries of Allah Subhanah; the believers should immediately seek the refuge and protection of the All-Mighty Lord from the accursed Shaitaan by saying: “Aoodobillahe minas Shaitaan ar rajeem”. If the person is sincere in seeking refuge and protection, Allah Subhanah will protect him from the assaults of Shaitaan.

Some other things the believers may do as such a stage is do the ‘wudu’, offer prayers, or recite the 113^th and 114^th Surahs of the Quran (Surah Falaq and Surah Naas) and seek protection from the accursed Shaitaan.

The long-term remedy for keeping the Shaitaan at bay, is to constantly remember Allah Subhanah, seek and stay in the company of the righteous, recite the Quran, read good Islamic Books, listen to good Islamic cassettes and lectures, and strive to stay away from being in solitude.

If one is constantly in the face of non-mehram women, or if one regularly watches commercial television and movies, or regularly reads commercial magazines, etc. where ill-clad women are constantly portrayed; there is a greater chance the person will be swayed by the suggestions of Shaitaan towards ‘fahisah’ and indecency. If one strives to abstain from these devices of Shaitaan, and makes efforts to remain close to the Remembrance and Guidance of Allah Subhanah, he will be successful in muting the ploys of the Shaitaan.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 27:

O ye children of Adam! Let not Shaytaan seduce you in the same manner as he got your parents (Adam and Hawwa) out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment to expose their shame: for he (the Shaytaan) and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them: We made the evil ones friends (only) to those without faith.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan