Masturbation is not Haraam – Dr Zakir Naik

Masturbation is not Haraam or Sinful but Makrooh and Discouraged in Islam is masturbation haram 14? a similar question has been asked, i would like to know the ruling on masturbation, i traveled and left my family behind for greener pasture for about one and a half years now, i miss my wife very much. when i call her online for video chat we sometimes end up with masturbation .

I would like to know if this is sinful or not. a similar question third question, i am a student. is masturbation haram in islam. i do this and later i regret, i do tawba but after somedays, i do it again, i cant find the solution to this problem?
i am unhappy with masturbation and what i do? the question that is

Masturbation Permitted In Islam?

is a very common question and literally every session, i have one or two people asking this question. but i have been trying to avoid answering this question but today i decided that let me answer this question.
as far as the act of masturbation is concerned, the scholars in islam there are different opinions but the
majority of the scholars. they say that masturbation in islam is haram!
Even though majority of the scholars say haram. there is a large number which also say that it is makhru and there is another large number of scholars who say that it is muba, it’s optional.

So i would like to say at the outset, that majority of the scholars in terms of percentage majority. they say that it is haram, but a large number they may not be majority but the number is huge a large number of scholars.
they also say it is makhru, it’s discouraged and another large number though not in majority. they also say that it is mubah and we’ll discuss this issue today and i’ll let you know that which group of scholars do i agree with towards the end.

as far as the jurist the fukaha amongst the shafi and the maliki almost all of them. they say that masturbation is haram and according to imam shafi may allah have mercy on him. he says it is haram and he quotes the verse of the quran from Surah Al-Muminun

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ
Who abstain from sex,
إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ
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,
فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَاءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ
But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors;
[23:5-7]

If you read surah Al-muminun chapter number 23, Verse number one on what it says that believers will eventually be successful, verse number two says those who humble themselves in prayers, verse number three says, those who avoid vain talks, verse number four says that those who do acts and deeds of charity, verse number five says those who guard their private parts or those who abstain from sex, verse number six says accept those who they have married that is their spouses that is their wives and those which their right hand possesses for them there is an exception and verse number seven says that all those who cross these limits they are transgressors.

So here the quran says in Surah Al-Muminun chapter number 23 verse number 5 6 and 7 that the movements are those who guard their private parts, abstain from illicit sex, except from the spouses and what their right hand possesses. that’s an exception and all those who cross these limits, they are transgressors. so based on this verse of the quran imam shafi he says that here the verse is very clear-cut, that sex you can only have with your spouse and what your right hand possesses and everything else is prohibited.

now this verse of the glorious quran can be interpreted in two ways. the first group of scholars they understand this verse as here guarding your private parts, in arabic it means that all types of sexual pleasure, that means all types of sexual pleasures for a moment is only permitted with your wife and what your right hand possesses, that is the slave girl and now the slave woman has been abolished.

So now it is restricted to only your wives. So based on this verse if all sexual pleasure is only permitted with your wife then even masturbation is haram.

Masturbation is stimulation of your organ. And most of the time it says stimulation of your private part site that the decoration or the orgasm. But the other group schoolers said this verse guard your private parts, it’s only restricted to sexual intercourse. So the verse of the Quran actually means that you can have sexual intercourse only with your wife and what your right hand possesses.

Other than section intercourse, this verse doesn’t refer to other things. So if you agree with the second group of scholars, then masturbation doesn’t fall under this verse of the Quran. That the reason the scholars are divided, but if you literally know the verse of the Quran, the meaning it says, Guard your private parts.

So But naturally, there is no explicit verse in the Quran, which says that masturbation is prohibited. And what we realized from this word, it means sexual intercourse.

And there are various other verses which have prohibited sexual intercourse with people outside the marital bonds, or if they’re not what your right hand possesses, if they’re not your slave women. Allah says in the Quran, in Surah Surah chapter number 17

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَىٰ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلً
Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).
[Surah Isra:32]

come not close to adultery, Zina of fornication, for it is an evil opening at the roots evil. So based on this verse of the Quran, the other group of scholars they say that, this was specifically refers to sexual intercourse, that means sexual intercourse is only permitted with your wife, and with what your right hand possesses.

Otherwise, it doesn’t mean other things. So if you agree, the meaning of this word is only restricted to sexual intercourse, then masturbation is not included in this verse. So that is the reason scholars differ.

And according to ibn hazam, he says that our beloved prophet has permitted a person to touch his private part and that hadith, it’s a start with your left hand, no problem, it is your good you can touch he also says that it is your fluid you can emit it if you want. So based on that, he says when the Prophet is permitted to touch your private organ, and that is what you do. In masturbation, it is self stimulation. So surely it is permitted. And masturbation is of two types one is stimulation. The other type of masturbation if your spouse, or your sexual partner is stimulating you, and no scholar ever says that your wife or your spouse is not permitted to touch your private part.

So based on this, surely the other type of masturbation where your spouse touch is permitted. So when you can enjoy with your spouse touching your private part, then why can’t you do it yourself. So based on this, the second group of scholars, which is lesson number, they feel that this was does not include masturbation at all, it is just talking about sexual intercourse.

So sexual intercourse is only permitted with your wife, with your spouse, and with what your right hand possesses, it doesn’t include masturbation. So that’s how the scholars differ. There is an argument given by the first group of scholars who say that masturbation is prohibited, and the quote the hadith Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) which is mentioned in shahi Bukhari, volume number seven, Hadith number 5066,
in which our beloved Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said that, oh, young people, whoever has the means to get married, they shouldn’t get married, for it will help you to lower your kids and guard, your modesty, guard your private parts and it can reduce those who cannot marry, they should fast for it will reduce your sexual desire.

So here, the first group was called the Fae fear. The Prophet said, if you cannot marry, you should fast. The Prophet did not say masturbation. That’s the reason masturbation is haram. Now this logic to see that just because the Prophet did not say masturbate, doesn’t make masturbation haram. Yes, what we have to understand from this hadith that the young people should marry if they can, if they cannot marry, they should fast that means fasting Mustahab. No, it doesn’t mean that masturbation is haram because it’s not mentioned as haram.

Suppose if I say that eat date, it’s good for nourishment and for energy, and as the Prophet says it date. That does not mean eating mangoes, haram. It means eating date, there’s good and mustahab. They are the fruit become Mubah. So it is wrong to conclude From this hadith of shahi Bukhari that masturbation is haram. It is wrong logic.

Because for haram, there should be strong evidence from the Quran or from shahi Hadith. So based on this the second group of scholars who say it is not haram, the fifth there is no text at all anywhere in the Quran. This is the only verse with the scholars quote surah al muminun chapter number 23, verse number five to seven when they say that they include masturbation, there’s no clear cut evidence. It only speaks about sexual intercourse. And there’s no shahi Hadith prohibiting masturbation. There are some deif and maudu Hadith.

We say masturbation is prohibited but that was not good enough evidence. So we’ll come to the second group of scholars, and we’ll discuss what they say. they believe that masturbation is Makrooh, amongst them ibn abbas the companion of the Prophet, there is a person who comes to him and says, that I have been masturbating. He says that masturbation is better than fornication. Marriage is better than masturbation. That means the call the verdict of ibn abbas, who was a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), according to him, marriage is better than masturbation.

Masturbation is better than fornication. indirectly it means that surely masturbation is permitted, but it is makhrooh.
The best is marriage. If you cannot marry, then masturbate, because it will prevent you from fornication. So based on this, the second group of scholars who say masturbation is permitted but comes in the makhrooh category.

Imam ahmed ibn humble, he’s of the opinion that masturbation should not be done. But if you’re gonna do fornication, then you can do masturbation, and he puts it in the makhrooh category. So the humble school of thought most of them, they say that masturbation comes under the makhrooh category. That means it’s discouraged. And this is also said by Mujahid. He said that masturbation it shouldn’t be avoided. But if it’s done to prevent fornication, or Zina, it is permitted.

This is the view even of Ibn hazam says that masturbation is makhrooh is discouraged. But if you’re involved in fornication and better do masturbation, it is permitted in such cases. And he says that though masturbation is permitted, it is not amongst the deeds of the noble people. It’s not the deed of nobility. that’s for this saying ibn hazam, that means the normal people normally don’t do it. So it is discouraged. So, that is the reason this group of scholars put it in the makhrooh category.

There are many of the scholars in this category time are not permitted discuss that. The third group of scholars, they put in the mubah category, the students of ibn Abbas, some of the students they understood that Abbas has put masturbation in the Makhrooh category and when they say it is Makhrooh, but the other group of students of ibn abbas. They said that it is Mubah permitted without any condition amongst them.

We have Jaffar bin sayed said he was a tabbain and he was a student of ibn abbas and his opinion if that masturbation is permitted, there is no harm at all in doing it is Mubah. There is no sin, under normal circumstances permitted. There’s another tabbain by the name of amar bin dinar. According to him, also, masturbation is permitted. There is no restriction it comes down to the Mubah category.

If you want to do it, do it if you don’t do it, don’t do it. It is in the Mubah category. Even the famous scholar Imam, imam asqalani, very famous, just 150 200 years back he was there. And according to him, also masturbation is Mubah it is permitted, it is optional.

If you want to do it, do it, there is no sin. If you don’t do it also, there is no problem it is under the mubah category. And even according to bardavi he says that masturbation is Makhrooh But depending upon the situation, if it causes you trouble, it comes down to the haram category. And he also goes on to say that if you fear you will do fornication, masturbation becomes fard that’s his opinion.

So here you have three groups of scholars. One group which is the majority thing It is haram, based on the voice of Surah muminun, whereas the second group of scholars say it is Makrooh. It discouraged and the third group said is Mubah. It is permissible. It depends upon you.

According to me, I being a medical doctor, that in our medical college when I did my medicine, they will say that when you ask a person, do you masturbate?

99% will say yes. And the remaining 1% They are lying. Anyway, this is just a joke.
It’s amongst the medical students. It’s not a fact. But according to research today, research tells us that amongst the males 95% Masturbate amongst the females approximately 80% Masturbate.

I’m not saying that it is normal to masturbate, but it is very common. And there is a myth that which is there if you go to some of the Islamic sites, and those who believe it’s haram, they say that masturbation causes blindness, masturbation, it causes nervous problem. All these things are a myth. In no way does masturbation cause blindness in Nowhere does it cause the nervous problem?

Yes, if you do excessive masturbation, they can be certain problem that if excessive masturbation, and even medical science tells us if you do excessive sexual intercourse with your wife, maybe 10 times a day, even that will cause problem.

So excessive anything, or excessive most of the things will cause you problem. But normal masturbation medically doesn’t cause any problem. If you do masturbation about the medical science that is normal, if you don’t know. So it is normal.

But the majority of the people involved in masturbation, but I’m not saying it is the norm. But I’m saying that majority people do it.

So based on what the scholars say, and what medical science says, I agree more with the second group of scholars, and I would say that masturbation is Makrooh it is discouraged, to make anything haram, you require a strong evidence from the Quran or from sahih Hadith, and there is no evidence whatsoever, the verse of the Quran I do agree with the second group of scholars hubmle. And the other group was called Ibn abass, I believe with the ibn abass call that it is not haram. And this was surah muminun. Chapter number 23 verse number five to seven does not include masturbation. It’s not prohibited it restricted to sexual intercourse. And I put it because there’s no evidence, it will either come in the mubah, I put in the Makhrooh, because I agree with the call of ibn hazam, that it is not the act of nobility, but because majority of women been involved in it and there is no evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah.

to prohibit it. I put in the Makhrooh category. Everything the majority to is not correct. For example today according to research 95% of the woman in the Western countries before the past the university they involved in zinah. That does not mean Zina halal, not at all. The Quran is very clear cut in Surah isra chapter 17 Verse number 32 That zina is prohibited, it is haram. majority do doesn’t give it a sanction to make it Halaal. But if there is no text in the Quran, or the shahi Hadith prohibiting it, it becomes Mubah.

I put it into the Makhrooh category for various reasons.
One of the reasons is not the act of the noble people.
Number two, that excessive masturbation is haram, it can cause problems, it can cause health problems, it can cause psychological problems. And most of the time, masturbation is associated with haram activities.

Most of the time masturbation is associated with pornography, whether you’re watching a blue flim, or a pornographic film, or you’re watching have seen photographs, images, here itself if it associated to a haram activity, that again becomes haram.

So if you associate masturbation with pornography, or with obscene photographs, it is haram. And that is prohibited. And it leads to that high chances. That’s the reason I would say that best is to avoid, but if you cannot marry for various reasons that we have. So the best would be you fast as was recommended by Beloved Prophet and shahi Buhari volume number seven, Hadith number 5066. That oh young people will have the means to get married, they should get married, for it will help you to lower your gaze and guarded modesty. And if you cannot marry then you fast it reduce sexual urge. And this is scientifically proven that if you fast it reduces the urge of your sexual desires.

So the best is to fast, but it’s not possible to fast always and depending upon the levels of sexual energy that keeps on deferring. So based on this, the mustahab is too fast. But if you cannot or that’s not sufficient to suppress your desire. And if you have to masturbate, it is permitted. It is not a sin. There is no evidence anywhere in the Quran just shahi Hadith, which says that if you masturbate you get a punishment.

The reason I’m saying this, that I’m in a medical doctor, I know that there are many Muslims, many of them hundreds who have come to me for consultation. And they believe because of the views of most of the Muslims. They are good practicing Muslims, but they believe it is haram. So they come to me and the similar what question was asked that he’s tensed, he’s unhappy, and he has got mental stress. Because they are good practicing Muslims. They pray five times salah, but they realize and they think masturbation is haram. So they get tensed up and worked up. And this causes many times big problem. Because the thing is haram, and they’re doing it and they have the guilty feeling.

This guilty conscious prevents them sometimes or many times, even to do good deeds. It disturbs them in the Salah, it disturbed them reading of the Quran. So because of not knowing the fact what is then the medical science today. These people think it’s haram, it disturbs them.

So I would like to tell you that I’m not giving a blanket rule that do it. I’m just telling you best avoid it. But if you have sexual urges, which you cannot suppress, doing masturbation is not haram. According to me.
It is permissible. Don’t do it excessively. Once in a while. No problem. Don’t be mentally disturbed. That is haram. And as the questioner asked, I have asked for forgiveness. Again, I do it, I repent.