How Can I Protect Myself from Fornication?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
How can I protect myself from fornication? What prayers can I make?
Answer
I pray you are well.
In the Qur’an, Allah Most High says, “And do not come near to fornication. Indeed, it is an immorality and what an evil path it is.” [Qur’an; 17:32]
Don’t Come Near!
The wording of the verse is clear in not only prohibiting fornication (Zina) but also anything that can be a precursor to it.
Practical Steps
The following steps will help you to squelch your desires and facilitate you distancing yourself from such a heinous sin:
(1) Guard your eyes! Looking at the opposite gender, in person, on picture, or on a screen, stirs up desires.
(2) Guard you thoughts
(3) Don’t overeat! Overeating stirs up desires as well.
(4 & 5) Do not mix with the opposite gender and never let yourself be in seclusion with the opposite gender
(6) Get Married
[Ghazali, Ihya ‘Uloom al-Din]
Supplications
The Prophet Yusuf (Allah bless him and give him peace)supplicated to Allah Most High when being enticed by the wife of the king,
قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
He said, “My Lord, prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me. And if You do not avert from me their plan, I might incline toward them and [thus] be of the ignorant.” [Qur’an; 12:33]
One of the young companions came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) asking to be given permission to fornicate. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) explained the inormity of such a sin then placed His blessed hand on his chest and supplicated:
” اللهُمَّ اغْفِرْ ذَنْبَهُ وَطَهِّرْ قَلْبَهُ، وَحَصِّنْ فَرْجَهُ “
‘O Allah forgive his sin, purify his heart, and protect his chastity!’
Thus you can use the same supplication with the following alterations
اَللّٰهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِيِ وَ طَهِّرْ قَلْبِي وَ حَصِّنْ فَرْجِي
‘O Allah forgive my sin, purify my heart, and protect my chastity!’
May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
