Do good deeds erase bad deeds, and do prayers from one to the next and from one Friday to the next erase what is between them? Does reading the Quran erase a sin observed with the eye? What is the ruling on masturbation out of fear of committing fornication?

We advise referring to previous fatwas regarding masturbation. Major sins, such as fornication and consuming alcohol, are only expiated by repentance with its conditions: remorse, abstaining [from the sin], resolving not to return to it, and restoring rights to their owners if the sin involved them. As for minor sins, they are expiated by good deeds performed by a person, such as prayer, ablution, Hajj, and Umrah (definition). Persistence in a minor sin makes it a major sin, so prayer alone does not expiate it; rather, it requires repentance with its conditions. Seeking forgiveness is considered repentance if its conditions are met, and it expiates both major and minor sins. Reading the Quran is among the good deeds that may expiate sins.