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:

assalamalaikum, i want to know one thing regarding masturbation, i know that masturbation is mamnuu, but, i am married and i am living out of my country, for job, and i meet my wife once a year, can i masturbate thinking of my wife, (as i am not thinking of any other woman), kindly advise me, because it is very difficult to live outside for a long time, OR - is doing sex with some other woman is allowed or not.

kindly answer me, as i do not want to fall into gunaah, and suggest me what to do in this situation

thanking you

allahafiz

(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:

Masturbate wife

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.

Dear and beloved brother, all the scholars and jurists of the major schools of thought are unanimous in their opinion that the act of masturbation is a sin in the Sight of the Lord.

Your Question: is doing sex with some other woman is allowed or not.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 17 Surah Israa verse 32:

Do not even go near ‘zina’ (fornication or adultery) for it is a very indecent thing and a very evil way!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 2:

The woman and the man guilty of ‘zina’ (fornication), flog each one of them with a hundred stripes, and let not pity for them restrain you in regard to a matter prescribed by Allah; if indeed you believe in Allah and the Last Day! And let a section of the believers witness the punishment inflicted on them.

Zina (adultery) is considered amongst the gravest sins in Islam. One can imagine the severity of the sin by the punishment Allah and His Messenger (saws) have decreed for the sin. If one is living in an Islamic State and gets convicted of the sin of zina (adultery), the punishment prescribed by Allah and His Messenger (saws) is that he/she should be stoned to death!! And if the person dies without making Taubah or asking repentance from Allah Subhanah in the life of this world, the punishment of the Hereafter in the Just Court of Allah Subhanah is even more severe and more lasting than the punishment of the world!!

Zina is considered such an evil and such a grave sin that Allah Subhanah has advised the believers in the Holy Quran 17:32 .. ‘Do not even go near ‘zina’….’. The believers are commanded by their Lord Most High to not to even go near zina, if indeed they fear Allah and the Last Day!!!

Thus having sexual or conjugal relationships with any woman other than one’s legally wedded wife is absolutely forbidden and considered amongst the gravest sins in Islam.

Your Question: kindly answer me, as i do not want to fall into gunaah, and suggest me what to do in this situation

Beloved brother, considering the situation that you have related, your only legal options are:

1. Bear your condition with patience, fear Allah your Lord in front of Whom all will be gathered to give a full accounting of their deeds, and stay away from sin.
2. If you cannot bear the condition you are in, then invite your wife to come live with you wherever you reside.
3. If that is not possible, you relocate back to your country and live with your wife.
4. If even that is not possible, than you are well within your rights in Islam to marry another woman as your second wife.

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