A repentant person seeking advice regarding the past and advice for his brothers: I used to engage in the secret habit in the past, and I did not perform the full ritual bath, and I used to pray because I was ignorant.

The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : A repentant person seeks advice regarding the past and advice for his brothers. He says: I used to engage in the secret habit in the past, and I did not perform the full ritual bath, and I used to pray because I was ignorant of the ruling. What is the ruling on my prayers in the past, and do I have to make them up? How do I count their number? O honorable Shaykh, now Allah has granted me guidance, and I advise all young men who have fallen into the trap of this bad habit to repent to Allah. I am still suffering from its effects, as it has affected my body and my reproductive organs, as well as my sense of guilt. I ask Allah to forgive everyone, for He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.

The Shaykh : This question is a question and advice; may Allah reward him with good. The secret habit is masturbation, which is driven by strong desire in young men who cannot control themselves. It is forbidden according to the stronger position, which is the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him). The evidence for its prohibition comes from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as well as the general principles of the Shari'ah.
As for the Book, it is the saying of Allah the Exalted: So nothing is excepted except two things: spouses and what one's right hand possesses. Therefore, satisfying desire other than through marriage or what one's right hand possesses is not a preservation of the private parts, and thus it is forbidden.
As for the Sunnah, it is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): The indication from the hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not guide to masturbation. If it had been lawful, he would have guided to it, because it is easier for a person than fasting, and because one obtains some pleasure from it. It is not possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would turn to something more difficult than something easier except because the easier thing is not permissible.
As for the general legal principles that indicate the prohibition of the secret habit, they are the great harms mentioned by the questioner. It causes harm to the reproductive organs and a decrease in the fluid from which man is created. It may also cause mental confusion, as mentioned by doctors. There are also letters written to explain its harms. A person should be patient and fast, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directed him to do: As for his having engaged in it in the past, and Allah having granted him guidance, I give him good news and give good news to the listeners that whoever repents from a sin is like one who has no sin. This verse was revealed regarding the repentant.
As for his not performing the full ritual bath from it, and having prayed many prayers: if he was ignorant that the full ritual bath was obligatory from it, and it did not occur to him that it was obligatory, and he did not think about it on any day, and he did not hear anyone say that it was obligatory, then the stronger position is that he is not required to make up the missed prayers. This is because the laws do not impose obligation before knowledge. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not order the man who did not settle in his prayer and did not know any prayer other than this one without settling to make up what had passed. He only ordered him to make up what was present, what he was currently doing. Also, and he did not order her to make up the prayers she had been leaving. This is a legal principle: if a person is ignorant in a way that excuses him, he is not required to make up the acts of worship he left. Yes.