Question concerning masturbation and religion...

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I am Muslim and I am 16 years old. Anyway, I masturbate quite often, but I've never considered that it could be against my religion. In Christianity, the little excerpt of the Bible, "Thou shalt not looketh upon a woman" or something, is supposed to be that you could not masturbate (although I don't think that's necessarily correct). In Islam, it is also very vague. It says, in the Qur'an, "Those who guard their sexual organs except with their spouses or those whom their right hands possess, for (with regard to them) they are without blame. But those who crave something beyond that are transgressors." Scholars say that the quote there is means for no masturbation because those who "crave something beyond" are masturbators. To me, it doesn't seem like that. To crave something beyond is like rape or something. When I masturbate, I'm not having sex with anyone, so my sexual organs are still guarded, right?I am sort of confused on this. I know that this board is bias to the act of masturbation, but going to a Muslim board might be bias to the contrary. Help me on this, please.

Hey bud, I'm a Christian and like you...for a very long time I struggled with masturbation and such. I've learned over the years that the guilt and all of that we do to ourselves over it simply isn't worth it. There are lots of people who have interpretted religious writings and seemed to make them refer to masturbation as a sin. I don't see it in the Bible and while I'm not Muslim, from what you wrote...I don't see it there either. Masturbation is healthy and normal and its the safest form of sex there is....so a very long time ago I stopped worrying about it. The problem for me was that the fantasy and porn stuff I was using as part of my masturbation ritual did seem to be against what I learned from the research I did on the topic. I got control of the porn (for the most part) and accept the fantasy as simply that. Ultimately its your choice, however at your age....it would be really difficult to stop masturbating all together. Maybe you could set some goals and cut down or "agree" that you'll only do it sometimes, but don't pressure yourself to stop....the frustration might make things worse. I suspect that sex before marriage is a significant no-no so you'll have to figure out some way to deal with your sexual energy. I hope this helps, please though, don't "beat yourself up" over this....its been done before by a number of us and it simply isn't worth it. Is there someone in your faith that you feel comfortable discussing this with? I know that's tough but if there's an older brother or cousin or a religous leader that may be able to share some views with you it may help you work through this. Hang in there bud and know that you're not alone in this!

It is the safest form of self release. That is why it is so great. I'm more devout to my religion (spiritually, not practice) than a lot of people are to theirs, so I have these little concerns every now and then. I'm not sure if I could talk to anyone about this, seeing as how it is an unspoken taboo. I'm not going to beat myself over this, but I know that many people aren't Muslim and try to comprehend the haram-ness of masturbation.

In many Christian sects and in some Islamic ones, masturbation is a sin. It is called the sin of onanism, after the man Onan in the Old Testament. From Genesis:
"[8] And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
[9] And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
[10] And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also."

Onan's sin was not masturbation, although that is a common misinterpretation. His brother died and God told him to conceive a child with his brother's wife. He had sex with her but pulled out and "spilled his seed on the ground". That was his sin. He wasn't even masturbating.Basically, he received a substantial penalty for early withdrawal.

Yeah, Onan's sin was defying Gods wish, not masturbating."lest that he should give seed to his brother" should have been a tipoff.

Who the hell is odin.

who the hell is odin

Onan is a character in the Old Testament who pulled out before he ejaculated. Are you familiar with Judiasm, Islam, or Christianity?

Odin is the head god in the Norse pantheon.

O.k. I am a Catholic wich basacilly is Christian.

Lol sorry ODAN

I'm not saying I believe it. I'm just saying that's a common interpretation of the passage, and one of several the Catholic Church and others use to justify the rule of no masturbation."2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action."138 "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved."139 To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability."

I agree that it's a common belief that the passage about Onan is often interpreted as anti-masturbation. But not of what you quoted supports that, as far as I can tell.

So what your saying masturation is a sin.

Are you even paying attention?

In reply to:Are you even paying attention?Damien, simmer down.

You're right, it wasn't meant to. Maybe I wasn't clear. I was simply listing the passage in the catechism which forbids masturbation. Onan is one of the original reasons this ruling was made.

Oh who cares? Wanking's natural. If God didn't want us to wank he'd make our arms shorter.Even if I was religious, and wanking was against my religion, I'd still do it. I'd sin sin sin. Bah! It's worth going to hell for!

Bah. By making fun of somebody's work, calling someone a 'noob' or saying 'fuck' you're sinning. Masturbation is the last thing you should be worrying about. I say jerk off, be happy and enjoy life.

Amen!