Is engaging in mutual masturbation with a person of the same sex (male or female) considered zina (illicit sexual intercourse), liwāt (sodomy), or sihāq (lesbianism), and what is its punishment? And does the punishment for practicing perversion through a screen differ from that for practicing it in reality?

Masturbation is forbidden, and its repulsiveness and prohibition increase if it involves forbidden acts such as looking at prohibited nakedness and engaging in preliminaries to major sins like zina (fornication/adultery) and liwat (sodomy). It is important to note that the prescribed punishment for zina and liwat applies specifically to the actual act, not to its preliminaries. This act (masturbation) is a form of sexual deviancy. Ibn al-Hajj mentioned that the stages of liwat include enjoying forbidden glances, embracing and fondling, and committing the major immoral act itself. If a person persistently commits these minor preliminaries, they become equivalent to major sins, and he must repent and feel remorse.