How can a young person suppress lust and the sins that come from it?
How can a young person suppress lust and the sins that come from it? Question: I have a friend who is lustful. Once, he asked me how he should suppress his lust lest he should become involved in even more sins. I told him, ‘I do not know, but I shall bring you an answer that benefits you inshallah.’ O Sheikh, would you please explain to him and those like him what can save them from these dangers? I myself know that, in general, many young men secretly practice different kinds of unlawful lusts without thinking of their destructive ends.
The answer by Abdul Azeem al-Muhtadi al-Bahrani: The sexual lust is one of the most dangerous lusts in man. This does not mean that Islam wants to suppress or extinguish it. Islam has a moderate method in guiding this lust towards the aim that it has been created for, which is marriage and then reproduction in order to keep the existence of humankind continuous on the earth. Without this great aim, there would be no need for this lust to be created by Allah the Almighty and consequently there would be no continuance of life for man at all. The sexual lust is planted in man for the sake of this noble purpose.
As for your friend, his case may be irregular; therefore, he should:
1. visit a specialist doctor.
2. avoid looking at what excites his lust.
3. always remember the terrible end of unlawfulness and its perishing consequences.
4. know the value of himself as a human being and that he is not a beast and should know that panting after lusts degrades him.
5. prepare himself to get married at the first opportunity and without difficult material conditions and if he cannot, he should practice temporary marriage, but not make it as his basic aim.
6. practice sports that fit his wish and physical abilities.
7. starve himself (by fasting, for example) because hunger weakens lust, whereas food nourishes it.
8. ponder on the following Qur’anic verses and act according to them, (But there came after them an evil generation, who neglected prayers and followed lusts, so they will meet perdition. Save him who shall repent and believe and do right. Those will enter the Garden, and they will not be wronged in aught. Gardens of Eden, which the Beneficent hath promised to His slaves in the unseen. Lo! His promise is ever sure of fulfillment. They shall not hear therein any vain discourse, but only Peace, and they shall have their sustenance therein morning and evening. This is the Garden which We cause the devout among Our bondmen to inherit)[37].
Notes:
[37] Holy Qur’an, 59:63.
