Are the viewer of pornography and the one who commits fornication with himself equal in sin in the sight of Allah?

Watching pornographic films is forbidden and a path to metaphorical adultery (zina). This is a lesser form of zina than the major zina for which there is a prescribed punishment (hadd). One who condones a sin is sinful, but their sin is not necessarily equal to that of the direct perpetrator. This is because the sin of one who performs the actual deed, which has a tangible and far-reaching effect, is greater than that of one who merely wishes for it, even if they are equal in the root of the sin.