Allah All Mighty has clearly stated in the Quraan:
ولا تقربوا الزنا إنه كان فاحشة وساء سبيلا
And go not nigh to fornication; surely it is an indecency and an evil way
[surah Isra: Ayah 32]
Allah has forbidden us from even going close to Zinah, let alone carrying out the act. There are many forms of zinah, and glancing unlawful gazes also qualifies as this, as does watching pornography. Spending couple of minutes or hours watching such movies we are paying a spiritual price for this, it has an effect on our day to day life, it has an impact on our worship, our salah, dua, our character and most importantly our connection with Allah All Mighty.
Pornography is a topic that we need to tackle and we must help those that are trapped in this sin. Many societies sweep the topic of porn under the carpet, despite knowing it exists.
This multi-billion dollar/pound industry is thriving on individuals who are addicted to the sin and the figures speak for themselves
25% of most internet searches request porn and these figures are increasing, the graph below shows the volume of search results from 2005-2013, increasing immensely.
View full report in Google Trends
In 2013 among the top cities searching for such material are New Delhi, Istanbul, Karachi, Cairo, which are all Predominant Islamic cities.
In February 2013, University of Sydney conducted a research in which 800 people participated, 47% acknowledged watching pornography for between 30 minutes and three hours every day, and over half had de-facto partners or were married. The study revealed that in addition to the damage to friendships and romantic relationships, negative consequences of watching pornography’ included loss of jobs and legal problems.
Times have changed
One of the main issues with pornography is that it is widely accessible for everyone. Going back 15 – 20 years, one had to go to a special theater to watch such explicit videos and images, and then it became available on VCR’s, which were available for purchase in a limited manner, in certain stores only.Now with the internet, smart phones, tablets, it is not just accessible at a person’s fingertips, but apps, notifications and other junk emails regarding such content are constantly created and distributed. So naturally, if a person is spiritually weak he/she can easily slip and get caught up in this evil act of viewing pornography’.
“The easy access to pornography on the Internet and other devices makes resisting the urge more difficult, and appears to be increasing pornography addiction. There are people who are now porn addicts who arguably wouldn’t have gotten there without the new technologies,” San Francisco psychotherapist Michael Halyard, MFT.
The internet-centered and sex-driven society we find ourselves in, add to the difficulty of staying away from pornography. Sex is deemed as the normality in many developed countries and is promoted on billboards, shopping malls, TV channels and advertisements.
However, the problem is not in the widely available nature of such explicit content, it is in the psychological addiction to it. Pornography, like gambling, drugs and alcohol is dangerously addictive.
“Why is pornography so incredibly powerful?
There has got to be more to this than just ‘dirty pictures’ and research now shows that an addiction to pornography is a “chemical addiction”. Such addictions produce a response in the brain, similar to that produced by drugs, alcohol and gambling.Every time a person watches porn their brain releases dopamine (a chemical that is responsible for transmitting signals between nerves and brains, it is usually released when your body accomplishes something, eating, running, sports, and sexual excitement etc). Over time, this causes Neuroplasticity, a change in the brain that alters the brain cells to motivate certain actions, causing he/she to perform the same act repetitively in the future. Having fallen into this trap, the body will not just desire to do the same act, but it will require it to do the act. It is therefore safe to deem this an addiction.
“For compulsive pornography consumers, the pornography often serves as a way to self-soothe, relax, and escape the stress of modern life. People also use pornography to avoid uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt and shame, and as a way to manage their anxiety. Sometimes people use porn just to avoid doing work or tedious tasks,” San Francisco psychotherapist Michael Halyard, MFT.
Pornography is degrading, unreal and is the root of corruptions. It has a great impact on a person’s character; the ways they think, see and speak are all greatly affected. A person who engages in such evil activities is far away from modesty. The Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) has said “Modesty is half of faith”. So as being modest is half of faith, a person who is involved in this demoralising activity automatically does not have modesty because if they did they would not engage in such activities. It is important to understand the harms of porn.
Actual harms of pornography
Before a person looks at the spiritual harms of pornography some of the apparent harms are:Problems within social and married relationships: Dr. William Struthers, who has a PhD in biopsychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, states, found that men who use porn become controlling, highly introverted, have high anxiety, narcissistic, curious, have low self-esteem, depressed, dissociative, distractible. Ironically, while viewing porn creates momentary intensely pleasurable experiences, it ends up leading to several negative lingering psychological experiences.
Rewires your brain: “After all, pornography works in the most basic of ways on the brain: It is Pavlovian. An orgasm is one of the biggest rein forcers imaginable. If you associate orgasm with your wife, a kiss, a scent, a body, that is what, over time, will turn you on; if you open your focus to an endless stream of ever-more-transgressive images of cyber sex slaves,that is what it will take to turn you on. The ubiquity of sexual images does not free eros but dilutes it”. - Naomi Wolf
Leads to masturbation: This is a whole new topic which again harms your faith and body.
The loss of sense: It makes real sex and even the real world boring in comparison.
Lies about reality: When a person is watching pornography, they are watching something that is unrealistic, and unnatural. It cultivates a single standard of beauty that no real women can live up to. It also leads men to be mistakenly dissatisfied with reality as it pertains to sex.
Porn makes men get bored with their own wives. “Excessive exposure to the incredible variety of naked bodies that you see in porn makes men feel permanently dissatisfied with their wives’ bodies,” Rabbi Shmuley.
Turn to Allah
We acknowledge from the above research and points that one can easily fall into pornography and before realising, it becomes an addiction.Allah (swt) says: “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 they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof… ”
Allah All Mighty has given people the blessing of sight, just the thought of losing one’s sight brings shivers down the spine. With this great blessing which Allah has bestowed upon us, shouldn’t a person be thankful and use it in the manner which is pleasing to Allah. Just ponder over the day of resurrection when one is standing in front of Allah All Mighty, and Allah asks “aren’t you ashamed, you could see the blind around you, and I gave you sight, with which you used to watch unlawful activities.” What answer will we have?
Everything a person does in this world they are accountable for, and watching one glimpse or hours of porn, calls onto the disobedience of Allah. When a person is indulged in such an activity the heart dies and becomes dark, losing the light of imaan. Besides guilty conscious what has one got to gain from such a sin? There is no benefit in this world or in the hereafter. For a couple of minutes to feed ones desire, a person is selling away their imaan for consequences which they will come to know on the day of judgment, when the book of deeds are presented.
Some are searching contentment from their busy stressful days in pornography, Allah All Mighty clearly states in the Quraan “Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest”. Why not turn to Allah, and witness what contentment your body and soul will find. Allah has given a person their body as a cage for their soul to take them through their life. Verily to Allah will we return after we die. Just as the body (the shell of the soul) needs nourishment which is provided in the form of food and drink, the souls also need to be nourished and taken care of. As a person’s soul is from Allah, the nourishment of the souls therefore also comes from the heavens in the form of remembrance of Allah.
How to cure oneself
1. Understand it is haraam (unlawful) and ask forgiveness from Allah. Allah is the most merciful and if a person turns to him sincerely repenting for their sins, He will make it easy for that person to stop their addiction and will also forgive them, never underestimate the mercy of Allah.2. Stay in good company.
3. Take precautions whilst browsing on the internet, only use the internet for work, block off adult sites using the security on your browser (on Chrome browser you can do this easily), and use the internet in a public place rather than in solitary.
4. A person will be accountable for every single action, remember Allah is watching at all times, a person should engross themself as much as possible in the remembrance of Allah in the form of Quran recitation, reading Islamic books, and zikr of Allah.
6. Practise lowering your gaze.
7. Stop watching unlawful vidoes
8. Give in charity
9. Every time a person commits this evil sin, pray 2 rakaat salah and ask Allah for forgiveness and help.
Anas ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said
“By Him in Whose Hand is my soul: If you committed sins to the extent that your sins filled what is between the heavens and the earth, Allāh would forgive you after seeking His forgiveness. By Him in whose hand is Muḥammad’s soul, if you did not commit sins, Allāh would replace you by other people who would commit sins. Then, Allāh forgives them after seeking His forgiveness.”
People have become slaves of their lusts, whatever their lusts desire they are ready to feed them. This is something they need to practice to resist. Yes it is tough, but the rewards that Allah has in store are far better. A person may slip once and twice, but seek forgiveness from Allah and keep practising, and just like everything else, over time with dua and perseverance that person will be able to control their desire, and enjoy the fruits that Allah has in store for them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who repents from sin is like one who has never sinned.”
Whether a person watches pornographic movies individually or with their marriage partner it is impermissible and haram (unlawful) in Islam. It is against the teachings of Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
As a person is not allowed to expose themself or look at the private parts of others, whether alive or in pictures, how can he/she be permitted to look at the sexual acts between two people? Such practices are, indeed, not only forbidden but also reckoned as one of the most heinous sins in Islam.
Now my brothers and sisters ponder upon this- is it worth it when this world and all it includes is only in existence for a limited time? Therefore, a person must avoid it to keep the purity of their souls.
Everybody’s goal in this world should be to prepare themselves for the everlasting life in the hereafter, not to gain Allah’s wrath by engaging themselves in these de-modest activities, just take a moment and think if they were to die in the state of watching porn then how will they able to face Allah – the king of both worlds? In a person’s life time Allah gives them enough indications to realise what is right and what is wrong but sometimes they are too ignorant and arrogant to accept and practice the teachings of the Qura’an and sunan of our prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) because they have received these teachings with so much ease. Before a person knows it he/she will be on their death beds wishing they hadn’t done all the evil and incorrect acts that they did in their lives. A change must be made before it’s too late.
May Allaah give everybody the ability to control their desires nd gain better understanding of Allaah nd his closeness... Aameen summa Aameen...
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