Islam on pornography: A definite NO NO | SoundVision.com

Islam on pornography: A definite NO NO

Islam on pornography: A definite NO NO

Every Friday we hear the Imam conclude his sermon by reciting the following verse of the Quran:

"Surely God enjoins justice, kindness and the doing of good, to kith and kin; and He forbids all that is shameful, indecent, evil, rebellious and oppressive." InnaAllah Yamuru bil adel, wal ehsane, wa itae zil qurba; wa yanha anil fuhshae, wal munkari walbaghi; yaizukhum lallakum tazakkaroon. (Quran 16:90)

Pornography and the culture of pornography has all the three elements which God has prohibited in the above verse of the Quran: Fuhsha; Munkar, baghi. Here is a bit of terminology before we review the rest of the evidence on the question is watching porn haram.

Fuhsha:

According to the Al-Mawrid Arabic-English dictionary of Munir Baalbaki, Fuhash is obscenity, vulgarity, indecency, shamelessness and something that is dirty, filthy and foul. Al-Mawrid's English-Arabic dictionary translates pornographic as Fahish. The Hans Wehr Dictionary Of Modern Written Arabic adds monstrosity, abomination, vile deed and fornication to its meaning as well.

Fuhsha, translated as anything shameful, is a Quranic term which in the Quran and Hadith has been used widely for unIslamic sexual behavior. The Quran uses it as in the above verse (Quran 16:90). It is a set of vices that embraces the whole range of evil and shameful deeds. Scholars of the Quran have included every vice which is intrinsically of a highly reprehensible character into this category whether it be fornication, nudity, public foreplay as depicted in films and photos, pornography, hurling abuses and curse words, promiscuous mixing, or dresses designed to expose the body. At the highest level of Fuhsha, Allah has included adultery (Quran 17:32) and same gender sex (Quran 7:80; 27:54).

When asked, is watching porn haram? All scholars agree pornography is included in the term Fuhsha.

Al-Munkar

Al-Mawrid English - Arabic Dictionarydescribes Munkar as gross, abominable, detestable, atrocious, outrageous, flagrant.

As a major Quranic term it means something which is universally acknowledged as bad and immoral. This category includes all evils which have been unanimously condemned by the human conscience and which have been forbidden by Divine Law in all ages.

People of all faiths abhor watching porn. Even the norms of American society do not allow its propagation in mainstream newspapers and prime time TV, forcing it to hide in dark alleys. Those who are addicted to watching porn try to watch it mostly discreetly. This indicates that it is a universally accepted immoral act which Quran calls al-Munkar.

Al-Baghi

According to Al-Mawrid English - Arabic dictionary, this term means wrong, injustice, outrage, and transgression.

Al-Baghi in the Quranic terminology means transgression and trespassing into the space and the rights of others, whether those rights be of God or of a fellow human being. Pornography is a transgression towards God as well as towards human beings and animals. The pornographic industry trespasses on the rights of women especially by turning them into sex objects. Pornographic emails trespass the private email boxes of Americans at least four times a day.

God is Against Pornography (Fuhsha) whether Open or Hidden

"Tell them (O Muhammad): 'My Lord has only forbidden indecent acts, whether overt or hidden?"

innama haram rabbial fawahisha ma zahar aminha wma batan.. (Quran 7:33).

Therefore, the question is watching porn haram is answered and other indecent acts in the privacy of the home or on the internet is also forbidden.

Allah Asks Us Not to Even Go Close to It

"Say to them (O Muhammad!) ?do not even draw near to things shameful–be they open or secret;? " (Quran 6:151 partial)

?wa la taqrabul fawahisha ma zahara minha wa ma batan?

Allah has mentioned this instruction along with shirk and murder which means that Allah considered shameful things like watching porn among the major sins.

Allah knows best. He knows His creation. He knows that we are weak. Therefore, He likes us to stay away from shameful things.

Those who Propagate Shameful things among the Believers

"Verily those who love that indecency should spread among the believers deserve a painful chastisement in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah knows, but you do not know." Quran 24:19

Innal lazeena yuhibbuna an tasheeal fahishatu fillazeena amanou lahum azabun aleemun fid dunya wal akhirate, wallahu yalamu wa antum la talamoon.

The words used in the verse (fahishatu) embrace all the various forms that might be used to spread shameful and lewd behavior though any means be it pictures, films, or internet. 

Don't follow Satan

At several places in the Quran, God warns us not to follow the steps of Satan: "He will incite you for shameful things (fuhsha) and encourage you to do universally accepted wrong things (al-munkar) Quran 24:21

Restrain Your Gaze & Guard Your Private Parts

"Enjoin believing men to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is well aware of all what they do.

And enjoin believing women to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts and additionally not to reveal their adornment except that which is revealed of itself." Quran 24:30-31

Sayings of the Prophet: Hadith

No man or woman should look at the naked body of each other (unless married). Sahih Muslim

By God, I would prefer to be thrown from the skies and spatterred in parts than to look at someone's private parts or let someone look at my private parts. Narrated by Salman. Almabsooth kitabul istehsan.

Don't expose your thigh to anyone and don't look at the thigh of any person even if s/he is dead. Narrated Ali ibn abi Talib. Ibn e Maja, Abi Dawud, Darqutani. Tafseer Kabeer

Once someone's thigh was open in public. The Prophet said don't you know thigh is supposed to be kept covered? Jerhad Aslami. Muatta Imam Malik, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud

Allah has written for Adam's son his share of adultery which he commits inevitably. The adultery of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the adultery of the tongue is the talk, and the inner self wishes and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny it. Abu Hurairah. Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud.

Other Scholarly Perspectives

"It's absolutely Haram," notes Shaykh Muhammad Nur Abdullah. He is the Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis in Missouri.

"If someone is looking at someone committing Zina (sex outside of marriage) whether it is in movies or pictures or the actual thing, it's all Haram," he adds.

"Pornographic pictures and movies are haram (prohibited). Muslims should not watch, sell or make such movies. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said: 'The eyes commit adultery, the tongue commits adultery, the hands commit adultery, the feet commit adultery and then the private parts confirm it or deny it." (Reported by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal)

"This means that watching pornographic movies, listening to such songs or singing them, using one's hands and feet for this purpose, all these are sins that are related to Zina and then the final act of Zina takes place through haram intercourse." Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi

So, is watching porn by Logging in and browsing pornographic sites is forbidden? Yes, because a Muslim is always commanded to lower his/her gaze, let alone give a loose rein to his/her ? eyes to look at the private parts of others.

May Allah keep us all safe spiritually and physically.

Comments

umm mister farhad, i think you should try to understand what porn is. i am under the age of 15 and used to do all those things less than a year ago, but i stopped becuase i felt guilty after doing it. if something you do makes you feel guilty usually for me it turns out that it is haram. and if you say this man doesnt have any solid evidence then u bring some evidence. i want to see what you can say about this topic because if you dont have any evidence that this person is lying than bring it. if not then plz let those who have good proof tell the world the truth

Location

chicago

its really good document.and helpful for those who cant ask oe tell some one abt their husbands.Althu its for sure dat nature doesnt change dun how den a muslim girl can do wth such husband she can just pray for him n can just cry.. o Allah

Location

unknown

Sister Valeria, What this husband is doing, watching pornographic movies, is an evil and a great sin. It is not permissible for him to do that, let alone force someone else to do it. If the husband calls his wife to watch these movies, it is not permissible for her to obey him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no obedience if it involves disobeying Allaah, rather obedience is only with regard to that which is right and proper.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7257; Muslim, 1840. The husband’s threat of divorce does not count as a legitimate excuse for her, and is not regarded as her being forced to do it. Rather she should advise him in the way that is better. If he responds and gives up the evil that he is doing, this is something good that he is doing for himself, and she will be rewarded for that. If he refuses to respond to the command of Allaah to lower the gaze and avoid looking at haraam things, then it is not permissible for her to obey him in committing sin, and she should not trust him with regard to herself or her children, and Allaah will compensate her with someone better than him, in sha Allaah. If the husband does not pray, it is not permissible for the wife to hesitate in asking for an annulment of the marriage.

Location

Seattle

Assalama alakum,Jaza kallah, Your efforts material, and research are great, Its a sadqa jaria, if some one read this, i think by, hadaya of Allaha inshalha, he will left his bad habits.

Location

Islamabad

Thank you for giving and passing this information. I am married and had a dilemma with my husband watching pornography. we are mulisms and i converted when i married him. I so happy i found my religion. And i want to make sure we follow and respect Allah. But what i need help is how can my muslim mother in law relize this is phrohibited. We had a talk with my mother in law, husband and I because our marriage is not going well. But what hurted me is that his mother took his side. My husband says everyman in this world watches and thats its something you cant avoid. And his mother instead of advicing him and showing him the right path tells me. you need to wake up to the 21 century and realize this is normal. I watched it with other people n my husband so i dont know why you get upset with him! "This is normal come on wake up!" I couldnt believe this. Help! should i just not care and belive this is normal. i know this is wrong but how can i help my husband when his mother supports it. help!

Location

naperville

I got into the hands of pornography at an early age involving masturbation due to the internet connection in my home.The Effect is that it has controlled me.I am a muslim.I was not realizable of the mistake i was doing.Now I came to know about my faith.The frequency has decreased involving myself in Namaz.But sometimes i indulge in it again & i cry afterwaards.May ALLAH forgive me for my sins & bless me to lead a good life

Location

Kanpur

Jazakumula kayaran ,Ireally got allot of information that I don`t so far,once again ,Jazakaallah.

Location

Ethiopia HAWASSA

Assalam-o-Alaikum!, to all readers. I see that mostly youth are involved in watching porn movies. You must have fear of Allah to avoid watching porn movies. My advice is to offer Salah five times daily and read the Qur'an (Atleast 10 to 15 ayah). Don't watch, talk and distribute Haram things. Develop interest on good things. Be ambitious. Be active. Be good with your family and friends and be connected with them. Busy yourself in good things. You will never have a time to think about pornography. And while surfing internet if you come across any indecent material, just igonre it. Perfection comes with practice, so practice good things. When you have means to get married then just get married. Remember the only way you can enjoy life truely is by Halal means. May Allah protect us from committing such sins. May Allah give us hidayah. May Allah protect us from hellfire. Ameen!!

Location

Mumbai

ASSALAMUALIKUM>>JAZAKALLAH>>i appreciate your work...MAY ALLAH ALMIGHTY FOGIVE US ALL>>Porn sites should be banned bcz somehow when a young person open internet SHETAN always tries to lead us to that sites...I also want to say that In ISLAM what is the best effort(JIhad)...its jihad against one's own NAFS...so every muslim including me should do it...and repent over previous Gunnahs....And NAMAZ is best solution to every Fuhash thing....MAY ALLAH FORGIVES US AND SHOW US HAADAYAT....

Location

pak

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