Easy access to HELL: PORNOGRAPHY

We are living in times of massive trials and tribulations. The mankind itself is enclosed within the destructive ploys of Satan accompanied by other anti Islamic forces. Their endeavour is to annihilate spirituality of Muslims. The more we try to steer clear of the more we seek out. Pornography is one such menace which is inducing a great deal of immorality into the society. For decades ‘porn’ in its various hideous forms is being highlighted in magazines, films and in recent past, the vice has hit prime time television and above all the emerging internet and mobile communication have just become latest mediums for seamless transmission and accessibility.

The statistics reveal that there are 68 million search engine requests for pornographic material. There are more than a million websites that are actively providing content for the furtherance of the evil which is really very malicious. The most nerve-racking part of the research is, the average age for first exposure to pornography is as low as eleven. It is an understatement to say that Muslim youth are not afflicted. It is high time that we get enlightened what the Shariah’s (Islamic law) outlook about the subject matter.
ALLAH SWT said in holy Quran “Surely ALLAH enjoins justice, kindness and the doing of good, to kith and kin; and He forbids all that is shameful, indecent, evil, rebellious and oppressive.” (Quran 16:90)

Eventually Pornography and its culture consist of all the three elements that ALLAH SWT has prohibited in the above verse of holy Quran i.e. Fahsha; Munkar, and Baghi. Now what do these words actually mean in Arabic?

Fahash
According to the Al-Mawrid Arabic-English dictionary of Munir Baalbaki; Fahash is defined as obscenity, vulgarity, indecency, shamelessness and something that is dirty, filthy and foul. Al-Mawrid’s English-Arabic dictionary translates pornographic as Fahish. All scholars of Islam agree Fahsha refers to pornography.

Al-Munkar
The same dictionary describes Munkar as gross, nasty, detestable, atrocious, outrageous, and flagrant.
Pornography is something which is universally acclaimed as awful and immoral. It is unanimously condemned by the human conscience and which is forbidden by Divine Law in all ages. People of all faiths abhor pornography. Even the norms of American society do not allow its propagation in mainstream newspapers and prime time television, forcing it to hide in dark alleys. Those who are addicted to pornography access it mostly discreetly. This indicates that it is a universally accepted immoral act which Quran calls al-Munkar.

Al-Baghi
The meaning of the Arabic word Al-Baghi is wrong, injustice, outrage, and transgression. Al-Baghi in the Quranic terminology means transgression and trespassing into the space and the rights of others, whether those rights are of God or of a fellow human being. Pornography is a transgression towards God as well as towards human beings and animals. The pornographic industry trespasses the rights of women especially by turning them into sex objects.

ALLAH SWT commands his messenger in the holy Quran Say, “My Lord prohibits only indecent acts, be they obvious or hidden (Al-Aaraaf 7:33).

Therefore, watching pornography or other indecent acts in the privacy of the home or gazing it through other media such as internet or mobile phone is forbidden.

A few traditions of Prophet of Islam PBUH on the subject “No man or woman should look at the naked body of each other (unless married).” [Sahih Muslim]

By God, I would prefer to be thrown from the skies and spattered in parts than to look at someone’s private parts or let someone look at my private parts. Narrated by Salman. Almabsooth kitabul istehsan.
Narrated Ali ibn abi Talib, “Don’t expose your thigh to anyone and don’t look at the thigh of any person even if she/he is dead.” [Ibn e Maja, Abi Dawud, Darqutani]

During the time of prophet, someone’s thigh was exposed in public. The Prophet said “don’t you know thigh is supposed to be kept covered?” [Muatta Imam Malik, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud] Narrated by Abu Hurairah the Prophet of ALLAH said “ALLAH has written for Adam’s son his share of adultery which he commits inevitably. The adultery of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a forbidden thing), the adultery of the tongue is the talk, and the inner self wishes and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny it.” [Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud]

“Verily those who love that indecency should spread among the believers deserve a painful chastisement in the world and in the Hereafter. ALLAH knows, but you do not know.” [Quran 24:19] This verse of the holy Quran clearly indicates the quantum of punishment to the one who spreads this kind of indecency amongst the people especially believers. The advancement of technology has eased broadcast of such substance like forest fire. Please refrain from these shameful deeds as ALLAH SWT said “Say to them (O Muhammad!) Do not even draw near to shameful things, be they open or secret.” [An-aam 6:151]