Pornography: influence on man's sight and mind: remedy
I begin with the Name of Allaah the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
“And incline not towards those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you, and you will have no protectors other than Allaah, nor would you then be helped.” Qur’an 11 verse 113.
Going by the analysis of Jerry Ropelato, an American, who made research on the rate of porn addiction, he had it that; every second $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography. Every second 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography. In that same second 372 internet users are typing adult search terms (porn) into search engines. Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created in the U.S.
That is, every single thing about nudity is at the fingertips of internet users easily accessible to particularly the young generation, who know not that such things disable human minds and that disabled minds only produce failure.
Allaah Exalted be He, says: “Fastaqeem kamaaa umirta-So stand (ask Allaah to make) you firm and straight (on Islam) as you are commanded.” Qur’an 11 verse 112
Gone were the days when people had to cross the boarders of self-control and modesty in search of shops to buy adult magazines or videos (pornography) in the most secretive manner, this was just before the advent of the internet, the tool which has made it worse for porn addicts.
Sadly today, the ease of accessibility to adult websites (pornography) particularly through internet, in privacy of homes, offices, without the fear of being seen is a cold blood murder to modesty in our shores.
Truth should not be swept under the carpet, if there really lives the natural instinct of man to accept Islam (submission to command of the Creator of creatures) as a complete way of life, then every human faculty will not hesitate to testify to the harms of pornography.
Its (porn, porno or pornography) definition, from an advanced dictionary as ‘creative activity (writing, pictures or films etc) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire’, shows that there is a lot of twist in man’s mind setting haven’t given in to this consequential bad-influence (not out of ignorance but to satisfy the lower desire).
However, porn barons are pretty much like drug dealers, they give first joint for free, and then get the unsuspected victim addicted and eventually forced to go back to the dealer.
It would be totally wrong to throw aside a saying of a wise-man who put it so eloquently that watching nudity will constantly make a person feel guilty and worthless.
There is no doubt, all evils come from spare time since humans are most vulnerable when they are less engaged; why do people fill in the void by watching porn? What about dhikr (remembrance of Allaah), what about unleashing the creative mind to make life easy for humanity, what about going out to meet productive people, what about physical exercise?
Research conducted based on the need to determine the purpose of a group of internet users whenever they use the internet on a percentage ratio showed that; 90 percent of the internet contents are positive with only 10 percent being negative, while 90 percent of the users go for the 10 percent latter and 10 percent of the users align themselves with the 90 percent positive contents.
In such situations of course, youth become the target and thus expose their vulnerability to pornography the like of which has never been witnessed in human history and these young boys and girls know a dime about the minutest detail of sex simply because they have access to the internet.
Although, not every man, particularly the youth, give
thought to the fact that the devil would not give up hope in trying to mislead
and to lure innocent souls into the blazing Fire and which arguable pornography
can be seen to be an effective tool; and due to the pool of lust in human
hearts, people have become slaves to pornography, craving for sex simply
because their fitrah (natural instinct to do good) has been damaged by the
influence of what sight brings to mind.
In a house where lives a father and mother with no iota of parental control over TV, internet, and other media sources of socialization with immoral contents indicates the quagmire we are in, called an era.
Based
on thorough observation that man is prone to err, Islam has long ago laid down
practical solutions in case of deviation and all the correctional means
prescribed for men are there in the Glorious Qur’an and the Sunnah of
Prophet ﷺ
And since pornography in itself is an immoral dent, then one of the solutions among many prescribed is to avoid being in seclusion so as not to pave way for the monster to strike in; at least, man simply can’t watch porn when others are present (except in a case where the peer pressure is real).
Regular prayer is obligated on both men and women though, but it is to be accompanied with a determination and a resolution to take off the mind from been affixed to nudity and lust.
Fasting has been prescribed for those that are not able to get married in order to tame their lower desires, as for those that can, they are encouraged to hasten it. This goes a long way in curbing the urge to look at filthy things.
Lowering of gaze is undoubtedly one of the most
effective ways to stifle this addiction. And in this regards, Sisters too, need
to assist by not putting up provocative avi (display pictures) on social media;
imagine someone who does not lower his gaze getting provoked to watch
pornography just because someone dresses provocatively and displays it to the world.
Remember, Allaah is swift in punishment, and the guilt, depression, and shame, that come after committing the sin of watching porn is excruciating.
Agreeably, the way out of porn addiction is to always
occupy the mind with useful acts such as serious engagement to read books, talk
sense, and think smart and of course pray tirelessly to Allaah.
What benefit is there in watching pornography other than instant gratification of sexual urge and a permanent depression and a probable eternal self-destruction.
Thus, there is a need for all societies universally to
cooperate to psychologically train the minds, most importantly, that of the
youth, not to hit the search engine for pornography and the Muslims too in
particular, a balanced nation, an Umma (nation) that hopes in Allaah’s mercy,
do not deserve to look at pornography, it is a shame to anyone that reads the
Qur’an and prays five times a day.
Categorically, by reciting Qur’an frequently, there is
a cure for all negative addictions while sufficient amount of Taqwa (being
conscious of Allaah) should be built as an obstacle to any act that could lead
to bad influence that could damage both man’s sight and mind.
The youth are hooked on pornography and they have no one to help them out of this destructive addiction, the Imams, leaders, instructors, parents must be easily accessible in order to offer counseling to those in need.
This addiction leaves negative neuropaths in the brain which makes it easier to always go back to watching it.
But just as computers are rebooted so can a human brain be rewired by practicing "Intentional thinking (what a man thinks of, he ultimately becomes) and by redirecting the passion to watch porn to something productive and also by mastering the art of repetition ("studies show that repeated behaviors over time causes structural changes in the brain").
Brothers and sisters in Islam, I implore you for the sake of Allaah, to spread this exposition on pornography and its remedy to as many as possible, you could be saving a soul from the clutches of Satan.
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