Many Muslim youth may resort to the sinful act and bad habit of masturbation due to several reasons that differ from one person to another. Some Muslim youth are resorting to it due to not being able to marry while not being able to control their desire in the mid of the many seductions and temptations around them. But the core reason behind the falling of many people as prey to this act is their negligence of Islam’s teachings on how to be a good righteous Muslim youth and how to control their desire.

Our first advice is to remember the Prophet hadith saying thatseven people will be shaded by Allah under His shade on the day when there will be no shade except His. One of those categories is:a young man who has been brought up in the worship of Allah, (i.e. worship Allah (Alone) sincerely from his childhood).


Our second advice is to stay away from haram and to avoid looking at persons of the opposite sex with desire bearing into consideration the qudsi (Sacred) hadith reported by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Looking [with desire at a person of the opposite sex] is a poisoned arrow from Iblis; the one who shun it for fear of it, I [i.e. Allah] will exchange it with iman (faith) that this person is going to find its sweetness in his heart.”
So, we should know that looking at persons of the opposite sex or their photos with desire is haram.

We need to prepare ourselves to be a great person who is beneficial to his community bearing into consideration the prophet’s hadith, “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to other people.” So, our third advice is to occupy yourself with beneficial work and to have righteous friends who would always help you be a good and righteous man. Which means trying to control our desire by observing voluntary fasting from time to time.

Elaborating on how to control your desire, we’d like to furnish you with the following by Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, who stated:
“There are some ways through which one can control his sexual desire:
1- Getting married as soon as possible, even with little furniture and humble accommodation.
2- Observing moderation in eating and drinking in order to avoid stimulating one’s desire.
3- Observing fasting, because it bolsters one’s faith, preserves chastity, and protects one from evil thoughts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “O youth, whoever of you is able to marry, let him marry, for it spares one looking at what one should not, or lapsing in adultery. And if he cannot marry, let him observe fasting, for it is a shield against evil.” (Reported by Muslim)
4- Keeping away from anything that is sexually stimulating, such as pornographic pictures, erotic films and love songs.
5- Choosing good and righteous friends.
6- Keeping oneself busy in worship and spiritual acts.
7- Interacting with activities of the society in such a way that it keeps a person away from thinking about sex.
8- Avoiding gatherings and places that bring men and women physically close to each other.
9- Trying to admire natural things such as flowers and beautiful scenery, which do not stimulate one sexually, instead of admiring girls and women.”