The Ruling on the Secret Habit

The Shaykh : I often ask, as do others, about the permissibility of what is called today the secret habit, which in old Arabic is known as al-istimna', meaning the extraction of semen by a man playing with himself. We often ask about this: is it permissible in the Shari'ah for one who is overcome by desire, or not? Especially since the question is usually accompanied by a fear of falling into the major sin, i.e., the question is phrased as follows: Is it permissible for a young man to engage in the secret habit for fear of falling into unlawful sexual intercourse? The answer is that it is not permissible, for two reasons. The first reason is that this play is contrary to the prescribed method for a person to satisfy his desire, which is what the text indicates in His saying—Blessed and Exalted is He—: meaning: those who transgress against themselves by opposing the law of their Lord, who showed them the way to release desire. There are two ways: one is marriage, which is known permanently and eternally, and the other is taking concubines, which is absent today. We lost it because we turned away from obeying Allah—Mighty and Majestic—in many of the rulings of His Shari'ah, including jihad in the path of Allah. This is because there is no way to reach taking concubines except through fighting the disbelievers who prevent people from the path of Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He. So when captives from these disbelievers fall into the hands of the Muslims, whether the captives are men or women, they become slaves, and the women become concubines for the husbands who received the concubines from their share. This taking of concubines today is absent because of turning away from jihad in the path of Allah—Mighty and Majestic. Unfortunately, it does not exist, and we hope that Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He—will return the Muslims to acting upon the rulings of their religion, including jihad in the path of Allah—Mighty and Majestic. And it is not for the sake of taking concubines, because taking concubines is not the goal; rather, it is a fruit and a result. The goal is jihad so that the word of Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He—will be the highest. If the way today is limited to marriage, then every young man should strive earnestly for lawful marriage. And there is no doubt that matters are tied to their times , as Allah—Mighty and Majestic—said. So until it becomes easy for this Muslim young man to marry, he should fast, because fasting serves as a barrier for him. As for the secret habit, it is not a way to treat what we mentioned earlier from the noble verse: "Those are the transgressors," meaning: the wrongdoers who are unjust to themselves. Second, it is a contradiction of this educational means to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged the youth to resort when they do not have the ability to marry. Third and finally, it has been medically established that the secret habit has many, many harms, some of which may be that the one afflicted with the secret habit will not be fit to be a husband later, because he suffers from some degree of relaxation; therefore, the youth should fear Allah—Mighty and Majestic, be patient, and follow the advice of their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.