A Muslim televangelist in Turkey recently said that men who masturbate would find their hands pregnant in the afterlife demanding justice.
Speaking on the private television channel 2000 TV on May 24, Mucahid Cihad Han agreed to take questions from his viewers. After looking puzzled when a viewer told Han that he continues to masturbate despite being married and even during Umrah, a yearly pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims to the holy city of Mecca, the preacher informed his viewers that Islam categorizes masturbation as haram and thus strictly prohibits the act.
“Moreover, one hadith states that those who have sexual intercourse with their hands will find their hands pregnant in the afterlife, complaining against them to God over its rights,” he said, referring to what he claimed to be a saying of Prophet Muhammad. “If our viewer was single, I could recommend he marry, but what can I say now?” the televangelist added, advising the viewer to “resist Satan’s temptations.”
Istimna, the Arabic word for masturbation that Han referred to while explaining his stance, is in fact a contentious issue in Islam, as different individuals have offered different opinions on its permissibility throughout history. While the Quran has no specific reference to masturbation, various scholars have questioned the authenticity of the hadiths that address it. Despite Han’s orthodox religious stance on the matter, only a few Islamic interpretations categorize masturbation as haram, a forbidden act, while most others refer to it as makruh, a disliked act. As a matter of fact, some mainstream Islamic interpretations allow men to masturbate under certain circumstances – like if the act could be used to avoid temptations of getting involved in an extramarital affair.
After sharing his opinion, Han, who has over 12,000 followers on Twitter, was mocked across Turkish social media.
“Are there any hand-gynecologists in the afterlife? Is abortion allowed there?” asked one user while another said, “So you think that being pregnant is a God-given punishment?”
Photo Credits: Ceylon Today
