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Perhaps everyone knows the harm and banes of addiction to pornography. Watching nude strangers on the internet and masturbating to pixels of them is quite an unhealthy habit. People are now realizing the harmful effects of pornography on their minds, bodies, and souls. It causes many problems such as shame, guilt, self-hatred, social anxiety, procrastination, low self-confidence, and even physical issues such as erectile dysfunction. Now the question is, if a person puts an end to their consumption of pornography, is masturbation good and healthy? Let us find out.
What Is Worse, Pornography Alone or Masturbation Alone?
There is no doubt that both pornography alone and masturbation alone are seriously detrimental to one’s physical, mental, and psychological health. Even though both are terrible things to do, watching porn without masturbation is a less sinful and harmful act than masturbating without pornography. Although this might be the exact opposite to what most think, the act of masturbation involves physical self-stimulation and orgasm without a partner and is considered a graver sin than watching pornography. Of course, this does not mean we are defending the consumption of pornography as it is also a major sin that could definitely lead to other haram acts, specifically masturbation. However, the point is that masturbation is the worse of the two and must not be treated as a healthier habit even if porn is removed.
When a man masturbates, he loses a great deal of vital fluids that his body has made by using many resources. Every time a man ejaculates and loses these fluids, not only does his body become weaker, but also much strain is placed on his body to restore and compensate for those lost fluids. Now imagine if this is done on a daily basis or even multiple times a week. Both the body and mind will be negatively affected. The human body stores these vital fluids for a purpose. That is, to procreate. That is the main purpose of ejaculation. Of course, legitimate intercourse with one’s spouse that leads to ejaculation without the purpose of procreation is fine. However, even overindulging in intercourse is both unhealthy and harmful. Therefore, moderation is essential even concerning halal sex if one wishes to be healthy.
With that being said, quitting masturbation after successfully quitting pornography will prove much easier and is a step in the right direction.
Is Masturbation Healthy?
Many claim that masturbation is a healthy habit if done in moderation because according to them it relieves stress and is good for the prostate. Islam disagrees with such a notion because apart from the aforementioned mental and physical damages, self-pleasure may prevent one from going out and seeking a spouse to start a family and raise righteous children. A person who commits the evil act of masturbation may no longer feel the need to get married. Then there are the feelings of shame, guilt, and self-hatred that come along with it.
As for its benefits for the prostate, first of all, the studies that prove such a claim are inconclusive to say the least. Even if ejaculation, which is the outcome of both masturbation and natural sexual intercourse, is good for the prostate, one should seek the legitimate and halal ways of doing it with a marriage partner. Ultimately, refraining from masturbation motivates one to get married. If one indulges in masturbation, the need for marriage will diminish. Therefore, masturbation is not the solution to maintaining good sexual health.
How About Masturbation Alone and Masturbation With Pornography
There is no denying that masturbation in Islam is a major sin that everyone who commits it must repent of it. However, some ask if masturbation alone is worse or when it is coupled with pornography. The answer is clear. It is like saying, is smoking alone worse or when drinking alcohol with it? Watching pornography and masturbating at the same time creates a dependency that seriously disrupts the natural mind-body connection. Porn addicts reinforce the tendency to only be aroused by images of women with “perfect” appearances who do unnatural and mostly aberrant sexual activities while also indulging in unhealthy, unconventional, and deviant fetishes.
When porn and masturbation addicts want to have real-life relationships, because their minds have been programmed to like those particular videos and images of the aforesaid women or men on their computer or smartphone screens, they cannot perform well sexually and suffer from what is called PIED (porn induced erectile dysfunction) because real-life sex does not meet their false and unrealistic expectations. As a result, pornography coupled with masturbation is not just more of a sinful act than masturbation alone, but also causes much greater harm and leads to devastating consequences.
Which One to Quit First?
As both habits are quite dreadful, the best scenario would be to quit both at the same time. However, some people have stronger addictions to one practice over the other. Ideally, they should begin by overcoming the weaker addiction that would also be easier. Most of the time, masturbation is a stronger addiction than the consumption of pornography. Nevertheless, it must be noted that pornography is the trigger point for masturbation. Therefore, if one is able to first break the habit of watching porn, one will be able to quit masturbation with greater ease. Although more difficult, it is perfectly possible to quit both masturbation and the consumption of pornography at the same time.
Some methods to quit these two evils is spending one’s time in doing productive activities, such as reading inspirational books, writing self-improvement journals, exercising, meditating, taking cold showers, pursuing hobbies, and spending time with family and friends. The idea is that one should not be idle. Idleness is the perfect excuse to engage in sinful activities such as watching porn and masturbating.
The Ultimate Method for Quitting Porn and Masturbation
We human beings are in dire need of support and motivation from others when we want to accomplish challenging and demanding tasks. The best way of doing something as important as quitting pornography and masturbation is reaching out to those who can help us. There is a growing community on the internet whose members motivate one another to cure their unhealthy sexual addictions. These people are mostly active on forums and social media networks. They talk to and encourage each other to give up their old habits. Thanks to anonymity on the internet, one would not feel shy or embarassed to openly discuss one’s problems with others who also happen to be anonymous.
One of these communities practice something known as semen retention. The idea is not to ejaculate for as long as one can for the many benefits that such a practice offers. One of the greatest benefits of semen retention is rewiring a person’s brain such that it is no longer dependent on pornography for sexual activities and can function normally. It is said that the minimum number of days one must refrain from masturbation to heal oneself is 90 days. Please read our article titled “Semen Retention in Islam: The Art of Preserving One’s Life Force” for more information on semen retention.
Conclusion
Watching porn alone without masturbation, masturbating without porn, and watching porn and masturbating at the same time are all sinful activities that one must avoid. In order of bad to worst, we have watching pornography alone without masturbation, masturbating without porn, and finally watching porn and masturbating at the same time. Therefore, no one should say that if I masturbate but do not watch porn, it is a healthy habit. Masturbating is always bad, with or without porn. Of course, watching pornography without masturbation is also extremely bad. In the end, one must first ask Allah to help one overcome one’s sinful sexual addictions and then take the necessary measures to achieve that goal.
