Addiction to Pornography & Masturbation: Islamic Remedy

Addiction to Pornography & Masturbation: Islamic Remedy

O People! I advise myself and you to fear Allaah, for he who does not fear Allaah will go astray. Allaah says that which means: “O you who have believed, if you fear Allaah, He will grant you a criterion,” (Al-Anfaal: 29), to judge between right and wrong.

We advise all those young people to consider the value of their lives and stop wasting it in trivialities. They should bear in mind that death may overtake them all of a sudden. All people are like prisoners in a cell waiting for their execution. No one knows when, but they should prepare themselves for it. Almighty Allah says: [Every soul shall taste death.] (Al `Imran 3: 185)"

The following working steps to fight porn addiction are for all, no matter their age:

Step One: Admit that you can't give up.

Admit that you are unable to get a grip on your consumption of pornography. It is uncontrollable. Every time you turn on the internet, go to the video store, turn on the television, you cannot say NO to yourself. You cannot NOT surf porn sites, or stop watching. You are no longer in control of your life.

Step Two: Admit that only Allah can get you out of this.

You know, after trying through so many ways to control your addiction and subsequently failing, that only Allah can help you out of this. You may have known it before, but you are convinced of it now without a shadow of a doubt.

Step Three: Your life and death are all in Allah's control.

Decide to put your complete trust in Allah, Who is in control of all aspects of your life and your death, and to bring this problem to Him and seek His help first and foremost.

Step Four: Do a self-analysis.

Do an honest, sincere, but often painful self-evaluation of your good points, bad points, and analyze your addiction, trying to understand how you reached this point.

Step Five: Make a specific repentance to Allah.

Admit to Allah and to yourself and to another trusted Muslim (if possible) exactly where you went wrong. Do not make a general request for repentance. Specifically list your mistakes and, in particular, your addiction to pornography.

Step Six: Be open and ready to receive Allah's help to change.

You know your sincere repentance must be followed by action. Be ready to do what is necessary to change, no matter how difficult or painful, even if it means not even watching television for the news or never surfing the Internet alone.

Step Seven: Ask for the removal of faults.

Ask Allah with sincerity, humility and regret to help you never repeat this action (looking at pornography) again and to help you avoid repeating sins committed in the past.

Step Eight: Do a nightly self-evaluation.

Every night do an honest self-evaluation of your behavior and be ready to admit your mistakes and thank Allah for the good you did that day.

Step Nine: Make lots of du`a’ (supplication) and try to increase your taqwa (fear of Allah).

Continue to pray five times a day, seeking closeness to Allah. Seek to be consciousness of Him wherever you are. Increase your reliance on Him to help you with this addiction to pornography and with all other matters in your life.

Step Ten: Preach and practice.

Don’t just "move on" after Allah has blessed you to get out of this addiction. Help others you know with this problem through regular contact and sincere advice, respecting the etiquette of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. By the grace of Allah, helping others will help you maintain control over your addiction, and you will help another Muslim or another human being to get out of this destruction and misery