Is masturbation lawful in Islam? – Part 1

“Those who guard their sexual organs except with their spouses; or those whom their right hand possesses, for (with regard to them) they are without blame. But those who crave something beyond that are transgressors.” (Al-Mu’mun: 5-7)

I received an anonymous text from a compatriot of mine. He wrote to ask for my opinion on masturbation. He wanted to know whether masturbation is a grievous sin that is punishable by the Almighty on the day resurrection. Just before I sat down beside my computer to do this piece, I thought I needed a professional input. I also did that because I knew that hardly is there a prohibition in Islam that reason or medical practice would conflict. For example, a thousand four hundred and forty-two years ago, Islam forbade the consumption of alcoholic drinks and beverages. I do not know, as at today, of a medical opinion which says alcoholism is good for your body. “Do not go near fornication” so says the Quran (17:32); tell me of a culture or civilization that says illicit sexual practice is a virtue.

Thus I put a call across to a medic friend and brother of mine. I asked him: ‘Brother! What is the medical position on masturbation?” He responded: “You know what Prof! I do not know of any negative medical implications that could result from indulgence in masturbation. What I do know, however from interactions with those who practice it, is that masturbation does not guarantee maximum sexual satisfaction. Those who practice it usually experience hallucination. Instead of the act providing sexual succour and gratification, it only usually makes the desire for sex stronger…”

Now a reader of the Quran would not see an equivalent in Arabic for masturbation which is al-Istimna. The latter in English refers to sexual stimulation of one’s genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex-toys such as vibrators, or combinations of these. It is not only men who engage in this, women equally do. The last time I visited a mall in United States, I saw various sexual equipments on sale- some for heterosexual relations, others for lesbians and queer identities in America. Yes, in America you do not need the opposite gender before you pleasure yourself either to heaven or to hell!

Now at least two perspectives are available in Islamic jurisprudence in regard to masturbation: the permissive and the prohibitive. Scholars who consider the act permissible do so based on necessity. They have argued that when a married or unmarried person experiences sexual urge and he finds no legal avenue to assuage his desire he could turn himself to both the “actor” and the “acted upon”. In other words, masturbation is a lesser evil in comparison to fornication and adultery. Scholars who travel this path would also argue that the verse we prefaced this sermon with does not explicitly mentions masturbation and as such the law is ‘silent’ on it.

Another group of Muslim jurists consider masturbation as Makruh (something detestable in Islam). Actions that are considered to be Makruh straddle the ‘dangerous’ space between the permissible and the prohibited. Some scholars of the past have permitted it to students and soldiers who were single in non-Muslim societies where temptations were usually high as the lesser of the two evils i.e adultery.

However, a larger group of Muslim jurists, exegetes and legists consider masturbation as completely forbidden. It is their opinion that the above verse of the Quran explicitly lays down avenues from which the believer is permitted to seek sexual gratification, namely their spouses and the slaves (during the time when slavery was in vogue). These scholars therefore argue that since “‘Masturbation is excluded by the Almighty an indulgence in it becomes an infraction of the divine will”.

Further, the conclusion Jurists have drawn from the following Aayat: ‘And those who do not find the means to marry should remain chaste untilthe Almighty gives them resources by His grace’ (Quran 24: 33) are the following: Firstly, in this Aayat the Almighty has given the command of chastity and, according to the principles of Fiqh, a command (an imperative) denotes incumbency and obligation. Hence to remain chaste is compulsory and to refrain from that which is contrary to it, for example, adultery, fornication, and sodomy is equally compulsory. This is due to the fact that obligatory chastity will not materialize except by complete abstinence from all that which is contrary to chastity.

Secondly, in the above verse of the Quran, the Almighty has made chastity obligatory on those who are unable to enter into lawful marriage. Since the Almighty has not made an allowance for masturbation an indulgence in the practice therefore means an indulgence in something not sanctioned by the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
(08122465111 for text messages)
Afis Ayinde Oladosu Ph.D
Professor of Middle Eastern, North African and Cultural Studies,
Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria