Fariq Naik – Is It Haram to have Sexual Thoughts
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses two opinions on sexuality, one of which is considered a sin and the other is forgiven if the person refuses to act upon it. They also mention a ruling in theductions of theductions of the church that advises against following footsteps and not following the church's rules. The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking precautions to avoid going too far and avoid going too far into a sin.
AI: Summary ©
We will take the next question.
Assalamu alaikum.
I do not want to mention my name,
but I'm a student from Pakistan.
My question is that if someone has deliberately
sexual thoughts, is it considered haram?
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him
said that the passing thoughts that cross an
individual's mind, they are forgiven as long as
he does not speak or act upon it.
From this hadith of our beloved Prophet Muhammad
peace be upon him, we understand that the
passing thoughts that cross an individual's mind, they
are forgiven as long as a person does
not talk or act upon it.
As far as deliberately thinking about sexual thoughts
are concerned, is it haram?
And is it a sin?
The scholars, they have deferred upon this into
two opinions.
The first opinion is the opinion of the
majority of the scholars, wherein they say that
if a person gets passing thoughts, and if
he dwells upon these thoughts, and if he
deliberately thinks about sexual thoughts, then it is
a sin and it is haram.
And Ibn Abdeen, who is a famous Hanafi
scholar, he says that the passing, if a
person deliberately thinks about sexual thoughts, then it
is haram.
For example, a person who thinks about a
woman, who is a naam-ehram, and he
thinks and he fantasizes about this woman while
he's having sexual relationships with his wife.
It is haram.
So if a person deliberately thinks about sexual
thoughts or sexual fantasies and desires, it is
haram, according to the first group of scholars.
And Imam al-Nawwi, he rightly says that
if a person gets passing thoughts, and if
he dwells upon these thoughts, then it is
haram.
So whenever we get passing thoughts, we should
ward it off.
We should not continue thinking about these sexual
thoughts and these sexual desires.
For example, if a person gets a passing
thought regarding a particular woman, so he should
ward it off and he should stop thinking
about it.
But if he continues thinking about this and
fantasizing about this woman who is a naam
-ehram, then it is a sin, as according
to the opinion of the first group of
scholars.
And if a person is having sexual relationships
with his wife, he cannot fantasize about another
naam-ehram woman.
This is not permitted.
The second opinion is wherein the scholars say
that if a person he dwells upon these
thoughts or if he deliberately thinks about regarding
these thoughts, it is not a sin because
he has not acted upon these thoughts.
And if he is given an option to
act upon these thoughts, he may not resort
to acting upon them.
And this is the opinion of the later
Shafi'i scholars, including Ibn Subqi.
They say that if a person deliberately thinks
about something, he has not acted upon it.
So that's the reason there is no sin
upon him.
But the majority of the scholars, they say
that if a person deliberately thinks about these
thoughts and if he dwells upon these thoughts,
then he is committing a sin.
But naturally, it is haram to think about
these thoughts because if a person thinks about
these sexual thoughts and sexual fantasies deliberately, then
it could lead to something that is even
greater.
It could lead to even a major sin
like Zina.
And there is a ruling in Usul-ul
-Fiqh, which is called As-Sadd-ul-Dhara
'i.
All the things that lead to something that
is haram, we need to close the doors
and we should avoid doing such things.
So these sexual desires, they can lead to
something that is haram.
So the moment we get these passing thoughts,
we should ward it off immediately.
And we should not continue thinking about these
thoughts.
We should not continue dwelling upon these thoughts.
So the moment we get any evil thought
from the Satan, we should immediately recite أعوذ
بالله من الشيطان الرجيم I seek refuge in
Allah from Satan the accursed.
We should ward off this thought and immediately
recite أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم I seek
refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed.
And we should try to engage in the
remembrance of Allah.
Try to remember Allah more often and divert
our mind away from these thoughts.
The more we dwell and think upon these
thoughts, the more it will have a bad
effect on us.
And the more we engage in the remembrance
of Allah, the more we read the glorious
Quran, the more we will find peace, tranquility
and satisfaction.
And whenever we get these thoughts, we should
divert our mind and we should always try
our level best to be in the company
of good and righteous people and at the
same time try to read the glorious Quran
with understanding more often.
The more we are connected to the glorious
Quran, the more we will be on the
صراط المستقيم on the straight path and it
will help us and prevent us from not
falling into the temptations of the shaitan and
not following the whispers of the shaitan.
The seeth in his purpose is to tempt
us human beings and he uses different strategies
and techniques.
Many a times he may merely just tempt
us and put these thoughts into our mind
and we may think that these are mere
thoughts but we do not know that these
thoughts could lead us to actually doing something
that is haraam.
For example, we may want to go and
look at a woman unnecessarily after having these
sexual fantasies and we may want to meet
a naam-ehram woman and a person may
go to the extent of even having haraam
relationships with a woman.
So that's the reason we should not follow
the footsteps of the shaitan.
The moment we feel that anything is haraam,
we should stop it at the first stage
itself.
We should not take it lightly.
That's the reason Allah says in the Glorious
Quran, Surah Baqarah, Chapter 2 وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطْوَاتِ
الشَّيْطَانِ Do not follow the footsteps of the
devil.
Leave aside following the devil which is a
great sin.
Allah in this verse of the Glorious Quran
is telling us do not follow the footsteps
of the devil.
So we should take utmost precaution that we
should not commit anything that will lead us
to something that is haraam, or something that
is prohibited.
I hope that answers your question.