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:

You have stated that mastarbation is haraam without iota of doubt. You know currently it is not practical for boys to marry for most boys until 25 or 30 years. Fasting may reduce sexual appetite but what will happen to semen accumulated if there is no ejaculation for few weeks. He may dream something and ejaculate during dream. until then it would be very stress full and may lead him to something really haraam.

I heard that some islamic scholors has claimed mastarbation is allowed unless nothing haraam is though off, is that correct ? 

(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:

Masturbation

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: You know currently it is not practical for boys to marry for most boys until 25 or 30 years.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 30:

30 (O Prophet (saws)) Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.

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, and whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power."

Beloved brother, the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to young believers is very straight forward and clear: Whoever amongst you who can marry should marry!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3096 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "When a man marries he has fulfilled half of the religion; so let him fear Allah regarding the remaining half."

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 8.799 Narrated bySahl bin Sad

The Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever guarantees me (the chastity of) what is between his legs (i.e. his private parts), and what is between his jaws (i.e., his tongue), I guarantee him Paradise."

The truth brother is that it is as practical and as righteous for one who is of age to marry today as it was when the Quran was being revealed; but unfortunately, some people choose to put themselves and/or their loved one’s in severe trial by delaying their marriage, and thus choose to make an absolutely practical and natural step in their lives as impractical!

Your Statements: Fasting may reduce sexual appetite but what will happen to semen accumulated if there is no ejaculation for few weeks. He may dream something and ejaculate during dream. until then it would be very stress full and may lead him to something really haraam.

Beloved brother in Islam, the Lord Who created everything in existence also bestowed on each amongst its creation its distinct nature. The wisdom behind this tremendous natural attraction towards the opposite sex, particularly at the age of youth, is so that a man and a woman may bond together in the sacred institution of marriage, create a family, and live amongst their family in peace and harmony.

If one, of their own intelligence and free will, choose to delay what is naturally due, indeed it would give rise to a multitude of issues and problems….as is evident in the so-called educated-modern-intelligent un-Godly societies today!!

Secondly brother, contrary to popular belief semen is not something which gets accumulated if not released….but is something which is naturally manufactured and released only when one is sexually aroused.

Thus if one of marriageable age is stressed, rest assured it is not because his supposedly accumulated semen has not found a release….but it probably is because of his tremendous attraction towards his natural desire for sex, which by choosing not to marry, the person has brought upon himself! Besides the ‘semen’ discharge is only a temporary and momentary release of one’s natural desire and by itself does not stop the ‘stress’ of one who chooses to delay his marriage…for in a couple of hours his ‘stress’ level or desire will naturally arise again.

Beloved brother, it is precisely to stop the person falling into further and deeper sin that the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided the young believers who could marry….to marry!

Your Question: I heard that some islamic scholors has claimed mastarbation is allowed unless nothing haraam is though off, is that correct ? 

Beloved brother, to the best of our knowledge we know of no good scholars who would dare to issue such a verdict, which is clearly against the very clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 23 Surah Muminoon verses 5-7:

5 (The believers are those) Who scrupulously guard their private parts,

6 Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess; for (in their case) they are free from blame

7 But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors!

Besides for one to be able to fulfill the unlawful act of masturbation while thinking of something ‘halaal’ or lawful is an oxymoron or a statement of contradiction in itself!!! It is illogical and unnatural to assume that one would be able to masturbate by thinking of the sun, or the moon, or food, or plants, or furniture, etc…….for the sexual release only takes place when one reaches the climax of one’s sexual thought or act….and for one who is unmarried any woman he were to imagine for his sexual discharge would obviously be unlawful to him!!!

The one and only lawful and practical solution for the youth to release their natural ‘stress’ and desire is to fear Allah, follow the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and if they are able to marry…they should marry. If for a genuine reason, they cannot marry they should observe fasts to preserve their chastity.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

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