Is there a difference between masturbation and self-pleasure, and what is religiously prohibited, and is mere fantasizing about engaging in sexual intercourse without touching the organs considered masturbation?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Masturbation is the seeking of semen expulsion, which includes self-stimulation by hand or imagination and other means. As for "al-adah al-sirriyyah" (the secret habit), it is a term coined by people, by which they specifically mean masturbation by hand, making masturbation a broader term than "al-adah al-sirriyyah". "Al-adah al-sirriyyah" in this sense is forbidden, and likewise, for an unmarried person to imagine intercourse and its preliminaries with someone unlawful to him, and to persist in such thoughts, is forbidden.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/84184
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 84184
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy