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Is Watching Porn Haram?
Will watching porn considered as a sin?
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47 Replies
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Is Watching Porn Haram?
updated 3 years, 10 months ago
7 Members
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47
Replies
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Summary of Response:
Since actual prohibition in Islam is that of ‘Zina’ (Adultery) and a person watching porn is not himself involved in that act but rather participates in voyeurism instead of becoming a primary party to that prohibited act. Therefore, we will ask that individual to avoid such activities as a preventive measure (sadd-e-zariya), because Islam wants purity (‘Tazkiya’) from individuals and engaging in visual acts of adultery affects that required purity and it may take it to a point where one might actually do that act himself because of lower threshold developed with constantly watching Porn.
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So if someone finds that he can control himself is it an inherently haraam thing?
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I mean even though some may claim they can drink alcohol and be fine it has been made inherently haraam so is it the same as that?
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Thankyou
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Response by Hassan Ilyas Sahab:
Summary:
Since actual prohibition in Islam is that of ‘Zina’ (Adultery) and a person watching porn is not himself involved in that act but rather participates in voyeurism instead of becoming a primary party to that prohibited act. Therefore, we will ask that individual to avoid such activities as a preventive measure (sadd-e-zariya), because Islam wants purity (‘Tazkiya’) from individuals and engaging in visual acts of adultery affects that required purity and it may take it to a point where one might actually do that act himself because of lower threshold developed with constantly watching Porn.
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So watching porn is considered makhruh(disliked act) but it can’t be term Haram as Fawahish which includes Unlawful sex (zina), wearing immoral/revealing clothes in public, using dirty languages and expressions…
correct me if I am wrong
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I think it is fawahish- fawahish that is hidden. I may be wrong
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Your understanding is correct @dhruv
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But all steps to zina are made haraam with la taqrabu zina. So watching things like this will obviously make you easier and more inclined towards these actions that are made haraam. And since the sadd e zaria of zina is made haraam how is this not haraam?
And surely it is lewd and indecent and indecent to watch these things. And all indecency has been made haraam.
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The difference is the same as speaking lewdness yourself which is Haram and listening to others speaking lewdness, which should be discouraged as it makes one’s sensitivity level go very low as one constantly listens to it and one day may start speaking like this without any discomfort on one’s part.
This kind of indulgence should be discouraged by Scholars on the principles of Sadd-e-Zariya but there are two kinds of Sadd-e-Zariya, one which is done by religion itself and second done by a scholar of religion keeping in mind the overall framework and purpose of religion and rationale behind certain prohibitions. But two must always be distinguished from each other.
See this for further detail on Sadd-e-Zariya:
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The directives regarding the prohibition for zina are extensive and lead to a whole new category of directives regarding hijaab in surah nur. So to completely disregard that and NOT have a modest gaze must be haraam surely right?
EG looking at a woman with a dirty stare is haraam since it is made fard on us tonoook with a modest gaze
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To look*
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Surah Nur relates to norms of gender interaction specifically with the objective of eliminating all chances of adultery right from the beginning when opposite genders interact and there is obviously a possibility of adultery happening between them. The topic under consideration doesn’t have a practical bearing with situations implied under Surah Nur. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to link these two.
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How do? What would the wisdom be in lowering the gaze in a physical setup but transgressing all bounds in a digital one?
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No one is saying to transgress one’s bounds whether it be a digital world or otherwise. It is about correct placement of these prohibitions within religion.
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Take these examples:
Gheebah-
If I do it myself it’s haraam
If I am in an area where I willingly listen and take enjoyment from it it is haraam
If I just pass by and have nothing to do with it it is fine
Swearing-
If I do it myself it’s bad
If I am in an area where I willingly enjoy and perhaps even spur it on it is bad
If I just pass by then it’s fine
Zina-
Myself- haraam
Area- haraam
Pass by- not my fault
Pornography is similar to being in the area and taking enjoyment from zina right? How could it not come under fawahish to watch two other humans expose their nakedness to one another and commit adultery?
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Moderators please clarify us
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thankyou
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What do you think? Isn’t it quite obvious that the act of looking at other people exposing their nakedness upon each other (whether lawfully or not) is clearly lewd and should count as fawahish?
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Zina:
Myself- haraam
Area- not haraam but voyeurisms should be avoided from a Sadd-e-Zariya perspective because it has a great potential to eventually lead to Zina
Pass by- not my fault
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A person (s) own presence is what makes it an actual fawahish, with two actual people being involved in it in some way. In this case, a person watching is not himself involved in it in any way, rather, it is two other individuals involved in the act.
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I’m probably misunderstanding what fawahish means. It’s indecency right? By area I mean if I am in the area, willingly enjoying looking at other people. Like in the case of backbiting, simply listening (with the intention of obtaining pleasure from gossip) is also haraam.
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Simply listening to backbiting should be avoided especially when the other person is talking to you. Similarly, if an act of fornication (or something close that could lead you to fornication with that person) involves the person directly, it becomes Haram, the lower categories are sadd-e-zariya prohibitions.
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But this would mean fawahish only means zina. Why wasn’t the word zina used in 7:33 then?
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Fawahish means Zina and acts that are done before Zina for that Zina.
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And I guess that the subject being discussed wouldn’t actually lead to zina in any significant way (like physically) so it can’t be counted as haraam?
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Yes!
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From all the above discussion I had a question unanswered about the hurmat on willfully watching someone’s “sharamgaah”. Isn’t that a “fuhush” act or isn’t that a haraam act, when you’re specifically going to search for that to fulfill your lust?
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Assalam u Alaikum.But Umer bhai what about that Hadith in which Prophet Saw said that there will be some men who will do Gunnah in night or behind closed doors and Allah will wipe away their good deeds?
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Please explain this point.Thanks @UmerQureshi
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And also what about a hadith where prophet mentioned about zinnah of eyes,hands,heart etc.Will watching porn not be included in zinnah of eyes? @UmerQureshi
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@UmerQureshi bhai please also tell which acts will come under the heading of”don’t come near Zinnah”.
Thanks,please clarify.Jazak Allah
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All these Ahadith are telling the same thing, as they all start with premises of Zina i.e. touching, watching, and going towards that place to commit it etc. and end with words “وَيُصَدِّقُ ذَلِكَ الْفَرْجُ وَيُكَذِّبُهُ ” meaning “the sexual organ either verifies it or rejects it” [1]. Therefore, the actual prohibition (‘Hurmat’) has become even clearer, which is adultery, while all the acts which lead to it should be restrained from on a sadd-e-Zariya basis, because if one actually commits adultery, then all the previous acts will be considered a part of that adultery and be held accountable. The Quranic verse ‘don’t go near to Zina‘ is also pointing towards the same fact. And all these Sadd-e-Zariya prohibitions mainly relate to situations directly involving two people; porn however, doesn’t directly involve another person but it does have a potential to lead one to Zina because by taking away one’s ‘haya’ to the point where one doesn’t feel any reluctance towards actually committing the act himself, therefore, it should also be avoided as a secondary sadd-e-zariya measure. But cannot be declared an “ABSOLUTE HARAM”.
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[1]
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@UmerQureshi but umer bhai by that analogy looking a women on a street with lust will also be not Absolute Haraam,doesn’t that comes in “Izzat ke khilaaf iqdaam” which is mentioned in Surah Aaraf
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Yes! it can come under that and that is why there are harassment laws being made in countries to counter that.
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And the Hadith that mentions of doing Haraam things behind closed doors and in night doesn’t include porn itself?If not what sort of activities a human does in night and behind closed doors? @UmerQureshi
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All sorts of Prohibited acts can happen behind closed doors at night including but not limited to Adultery, Alcohol Consumption, Gambling etc. etc.
We should not try to prove something as being prohibited (‘Haram’) by using a secondary source that is prone to high subjectivity.
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Just last rebuttal that I wanted to do.Thanks for your time.Jazak Allah @UmerQureshi
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@UmerQureshi I am really Sorry,I just need clarification on one last thing.Accoring to Surah Araaf 5 Haraam acts one is “izzat ke khilaaf iqdaam” by watching anone with lust like in porn,isn’t that person violating this and entering into Haraam activity?
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Very good point
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@AhmadShoaib plus bro there are also Hadiths which forbids the second gaze and tells that first sight is of Satan while the second is your’s and in consideration of all these evidences it should be strictly prohibited
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Succinctly, from your arguments it can be inferred that watching porn is alright as long as one doesn’t involve in adultery, since it isn’t explicitly haram. Is it?
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@Shozi Brother,my pov is that if we look at Authentic Hadiths where Prophet order H Abu Jareer to look down after an accidental gaze and he told H Ali that it is not your “Haq” to give a second look to an opposite gender clearly tells the message that Prophet told us to have a modest gaze and Quran e Pak specifically mentions us to have a “haya” in our eyes and protect private parts.Watching porn should be strictly avoided.
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Yes brother I also hold the same opinion. The thing is that no one here is encouraging to watch porn but the difference is regarding its ruling. I believe that it comes under the ambit of sadde zaria established by religion and thus be strictly avoided
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Exactly,one should try their level best to achieve good and stay as far from evil as possible
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A simple question for which I haven’t gotten the answer so far is, “Is it haraam to watch someone else’s (except for your spouse) private parts (sharam-gaah) for sake of pleasure”?
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Brother Muhammad Abdullah,I can’t say Haraam or not,let scholars decide that,I being an ordinary man come with this pov that all I think is that when Quran says to be modest in your gaze and Prophet SAW himself rather “ORDERED”a Sahabi to not look after accidental gaze,that means we are not to be expected to watch Fawahish.
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The confusion is caused by not being able to differentiate between something being haram versus immoral. Haram in it’s terminology applies to something that has been prohibited by God or His messenger. Just because something is not categorized as haram doesn’t automatically mean that it’s halal. However, such acts would be judged in the light of the actual prohibition and may be categorized as prohibited on the basis of the principle of sadd-e-zariya or preventive measures. Watching porn in private is not haram, however, it’s still immoral and should be avoided. It has a great potential to lead one to actually committing zina, which is absolutely haram. Watching porn in public, on the other hand, comes under the direct prohibition of fawahish and will also be categorized as strictly haram.
This thread has become too long so I am closing it. If the issue is still not clear, please do not hesitate to start a new discussion with an objective question pertaining to your confusion.
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