What impact does masturbation have on your spiritual life?

Question

Amu_adal: WHOA! that's quite a handful info you got there....!

Answer 1

I think religion can not regulate masturbation. Even when a religion says that masturbating is a sin, it is never and nowhere mentioned in the commandments. Adultery is a sin because you are hurting your partner who is loving you, and it is mentioned so in the bible. But when masturbating you are hurting nobody not even your one body because masturbating is a natural sexual activity your body is asking for.

Answer 2

I have no spiritual life, because in my religion there is nothing that adheres to the 'induced' properties of a spirit or a soul. Spirituality is merely a purely imaginary construct that allows us hope and attempts(and fails) to justify our faith and our inclination to shy away from our true nature.
Indeed masturbation is not frowned upon, though it is acknowledged that it is an advocate of a more sinister lust.

Answer 3

If you go to a brain washing church, it can make you feel guilty. If you're not completely brainwashed and are still capable of independent thought, then you'll realize that it's healthy and normal and have hand-pride.

Answer 4

I am not affiliated with a particular relgion now, although I was raised Catholic. I don't care what any religion thinks about masturbating, they would have to castrate me to stop me.

Answer 5

there is a difference between the physical and the spiritual

Answer 6

Masturbation is healthy and stress relieving.

Answer 7

it would be better if the nuns dressed sexy

Answer 8

It sends me momentarily to heaven when... well you know ! :-)

Answer 9

. The fiqh regarding masturbation may be found below.

2. The very meaning of Islam is submission: we submit our bodies, hearts, minds, and souls to Allah Most High, out of thankfulness for the blessing and life-giving light of His religion.

Allah tests our slavehood. Many people have 'natural' tendencies and urges towards that which Allah has declared unlawful. This is our test with Allah Most High.

Allah Most High said in the Qur'an,
"And the soul and He who perfected it
And inspired it (with conscience of) what is wrong and right for it.
He is indeed successful who purifies it,
And he is indeed a failure who stunts it." [Qur'an, 91:9-10]


The Ruling on Masturbation: Prohibitively Disliked & Sinful

Masturbation is sinful, being prohibitively disliked, because of its many personal and societal ill-effects that are known and recognised in sane traditional societies and by balanced people the world over.

As for modern 'expert' opinions that there is 'nothing wrong with it,' these are the opinions of the same people who see nothing wrong with fornication, nudity, and most other personal and social depravity.

The early Muslims used to say, "The one who weds his hand is accursed." (Fath al-Qadir)

Its prohibition was established by Allah Most High's words, "Those who guard their private parts, except from their spouses..." [Qur'an, 23: 5]

Thus, the general ruling regarding sexual activity is that it is impermissible, except through the particular channel that Allah permitted, out of His tremendous wisdom and mercy for His creation.

The rulings of the Shariah are for the worldly and eternal benefit of humanity, as a manifestation of the tremendous mercy of Allah, for Allah Himself is absolutely free of any need. Rather, it is we who need guidance, to give true joy and illumination to our lives in this world and the next.

So, When Could Masturbation Possibly Be Allowed?

Masturbation is only allowed in the very rare situation where:


if the person did not do this, they genuinely fear that they would fall into actual zina (i.e. unlawful sexual intercourse), because of their uncontrollable desire, and
they are unable to marry, and
have taken all reasonable means to lessen their passion (such as fasting, lowering their gaze, avoiding meat and dairy products, avoiing those things that stir their desires, such as bad company, spending unnecessary time outdoors, especially in public places such as shopping malls where there is fitna, avoiding watching tv and surfing the internet, etc).

In such cases, it is not haram because of the principle that, "If there are only two options, but harmful, then one takes the lesser of the two harms to avoid the greater one."

However, when there are third options, it remains impermissible to take the lesser harm, such as masturbation.

Even when the conditions outlined above are met, it would only not be impermissible to the extent necessary to quieten one's sexual desire, not for sexual gratification. Otherwise, it would remain sinful. These conditions are extremely rare.

[derived from: Ibn Abidin's Hashiya, al-Lakhnawi's Naf` al-Mufti wa'l Sa'il, and al-Nahlawi's Durar al-Mubaha, Kamal ibn al-Humam's Fath al-Qadir]

As for the fast: masturbation that leads to ejaculation invalidates the fast.

And Allah knows best.

Answered by Sidi Faraz Rabbani of the Hanafi fiqh list.

[Sidi Faraz Rabbani is a student of Hanafi fiqh based in Amman, Jordan. He is originally from Toronto, Canada. He has upcoming translations in Hanafi fiqh, including "Ilm al-Hal: An Essential Hanafi Primer" and Imam al-Shurunbulali's "Ascent to Felicity" (Maraqi al-Sa`adat). He also teaches Hanafi fiqh texts to students in Arabic and in English.]



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Question: Shaykh Yusuf Qaradawi in "The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam" writes that Imam Ahmad (Allah be well pleased with him) regarded semen as an excretion of the body like other excreta and permitted its expulsion as blood letting is permitted. However, Shaykh Yusuf then goes on to say that Hanbali jurists permit masturbation only under two conditions: first, the fear of committing fornication or adultery, and second, not having the means to marry. This begs the question...Is masturbation permissable in the Hanbali madhhab, and if so, is it qualified by any conditions?

Answer:

Before talking about the issue of masturbation, it is appropriate to first mention the rulings regarding people getting married.

[Marriage in general]

In general, people fall under three categories:

(1) recommended (sunna)-- for those who feel sexual desire (shahwah) but do not fear that this will drive them to fornicate. This is applies to males and females alike, and even to men too poor to be able to provide for maintenance and upkeep. This is an opinion stated by Imam Ahmad (Allah be pleased with him). It is better for someone who has sexual desire to be busy with marriage than seeking seclusion for works of worship.

(2) obligatory (wajib)-- for those who fear that they will fornicate if they do not marry, whether male or female. The person does not have to be certain that they will fornicate, rather it suffices that they fear that they may if they do not marry. When someone in this situation must choose between making Hajj or marriage, marriage is given precedence to the Hajj because of the fear that by one will commit the unlawful by delaying marriage.

(3) permissible (mubah)-- for someone who does not feel sexual desire, whether this has always been the case or their desire has left due to
sickness or old age. [Dar Al-Harb]

In addition, marriage is haram in Dar Al-Harb unless there is legal necessity (durura).

Legal necessity is defined as that the one's religion, life, mind, family & reputation, or property require it. It does not include that which removes difficulty from the above, which is called need (hajja), or that which makes the above nicer, which is luxury (tahsini).

In Dar Al-Harb it is permissible to marry when there is legal necessity.

If someone marries in Dar Al-Harb while it is unlawful for him to do so, it is obligatory for to use some form of birth control; otherwise, it is recommended to do so.

[Masturbation]

Regarding the position of the Hanbali madhhab regarding masturbation, Kashshaf Al-Qina` (6:125) indicates that whoever masturbates out of fear of committing fornication or fear for their body has done nothing wrong and is not punished if (and only if) he is unable to marry--even a slave girl--and if he was able to marry it is unlawful and he is entitled to punishment. This applies to men and women equally. The reason given is out of necessity (durara), which was mentioned above.

Please note that one of the conditions is that the person in question not even be able to marry a slave girl who is someone else's property, which means that any children would be born into slavery. What is significant here is that having your children born slaves is better than masturbation. This is not a light matter.

Also please note that provided there is someone that one could marry, masturbation is unlawful. No where does it say that the spouse has to be from the same culture, has to be a perfect match, or anything like that. As long as there is an upright marriageable Muslim it is unlawful, and if not punished in this world it surely is in the next. It goes back to availability, not economic stability, diploma, beauty, hair color, nationality, ethnicity or cultural origins. There are a lot of people who mix up necessity, need and luxury. This ruling is about necessity.

In closing, we know that divorce is the most despicable of lawful things to Allah, whereas fornication is haram. Parents should keep this in mind before putting so many conditions that must be met before marriage, especially since anything that leads to the unlawful is itself unlawful.

And Allah knows best.