Alhamdulillah… Perfect praise and thanks are due to the Almighty Allah. Complete peace and blessings are upon the best teacher of purity and high moral values, Sayyidunā Muhammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path till the end of times.
This article discusses the possible negative influences of pornography and zina on the marriage of anyone, who commits zina or is addicted to pornography. It's an addition to a series of articles, published here on GSalam.Net, that tackles this social illness and suggests possible solutions.
Pornography and Zina
Pertaining to pornography, I’ve outlined some reasons why one should quit watching it in an article titled, 10 Reasons The Muslim Should Quit Watching Pornography. This was followed with 10 Ways for the Muslim to Quit Watching Pornography for Good.
For the dangers and implications of zina, I’ve dedicated an article titled 15 Dangers of Zina the Muslim Should Know. The article also defines zina and indicates the difference between adultery and fornication and how they relate to zina. That article was followed with another on how to seek protection against zina, titled, 7 Shields for the Muslim Against Fornication and Adultery.
The Influence of Pornography and Zina on Marriage
It has emerged as common sense, that marriage, which is a lifetime project, is a noble cause that every matured and responsible Muslim should look forward to. Among others, a carefully calculated and righteously intended marriage will attain you a significant amount of inner tranquility. This goes without saying that it satisfies your sexual needs to a greater extent, in a righteous way. Furthermore, marriage contributes to the preservation of mankind and ensures its continuity. Marriage is also one of your gateways to building a good legacy.
Perhaps, it’s worth emphasizing, that man and woman’s need for the fulfillment of his or her sexual desires is next to his or her need for air, water, and food to sustain in life. Thus, the only way for him or her to fulfill that need, righteously, is to get married. This legitimizes his or her engagement in any sexual intercourse that he or she may have with his or her spouse, within the boundaries of Islam.
Because sex is an essential need for man, some turn to zina simply because they can't do it without fulfilling that need. However, some may be deprived of the opportunity of getting married legitimately, and that could lead them to resort to zina.
No doubt, zina has its set of implications and repercussions. 7 Shields for the Muslim Against Fornication and Adultery outlines how you can help safeguard yourself against zina. If you are a bachelor and you engage in zina, these implications will have a direct negative influence on your decision to engage in a lawful marriage. They will also have a direct influence on your existing marital relationship. Despite that, the negative impact, which watching pornography could have on your decision to engage in a lawful marriage or the sustenance of your existing one can be more damaging.
The Influence of Marriage in Safeguarding You from Pornography and Zina
If you are married, watching pornography can ruin your marriage. If you are a bachelor, it can prevent you from getting married. This is simply because the bachelor who is addicted to watching pornography will hardly find a woman who matches the ‘ideal beauty’ of a woman, which has been registered in his subconscious mind. This is indifferent from the effects and dangers of zina on the bachelor. Similarly, a married man who is addicted to watching pornography will never get from his wife what watching pornography insinuates that he should get.
Yes, both acts, watching pornography and zina have negative implications on marriage. But we can claim, that marriage can, to a significant extent, safeguard the one who’s involved in zina and illegal sex. But we can’t say the same thing pertaining to the one who is addicted to watching pornography. Simply because marriage can hardly stop porn addict from watching it.
However, at the personal level of the committer or addict, as much as zina has destructive implications on its committer, psychologically, physiologically, socially, health-wise and spiritually, watching pornography has equal effect in causing damage to its addict.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both pornography and zina are destructive sins. However, because zina physically involves a second party, there’s a prescribed physical punishment for it in Islam. Whereby for pornography, there’s no direct physical involvement of a second party. Thus, there’s no explicit physical punishment for it, in Islam. This makes some, if not many, people perceive that watching pornography is less dangerous than zina.
This may be true. But the devastating negative effects of watching pornography on your marriage may be incurable. Unlike that of zina. This means that zina can be cured with marriage. That’s why the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam encouraged the bachelor to get married once he can afford the means. But although watching pornography may be taken lightly, its effects are equally devastating and can have very long effects on your marital relationship.
May Allah guide any Muslim who is afflicted with pornography or zina. May He open the heart of any Muslim who is struggling to quit these bad habits to the sweetness of quitting pornography and zina. Amīn!
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Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂
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