What Can I Do to Stop Reading Smut Novels?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I have been in a cycle of sin for a while. I do not touch myself etc., but I read smut novels sometimes; I start reading, then feel awful and scared of Allah (Most High) and stop. I know I quit because I remember Allah (Most High), then I get so disgusted with myself.
I get stressed out thinking, ‘what if this happens now because I committed a sin and then start predicting and stuff! It’s a bad habit, making the whole day feel bad for me. I’ve definitely improved, and the sin is much less frequent, but it still occurs every so often, and I feel disgusted at myself for that whole day, etc.
What can I do to help myself? Am I a bad Muslim?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well. Allah Most High rewards you for seeking guidance.
Your realization and seeking guidance are the first steps toward acknowledging sin. You have remorse a lot of the time, which is a form of repentance. “Remorse for sin is repentance right there. After one repents for a sin, it is like he never committed it, to begin with.” [Ibn Maja]
Now you need a final push, self-organize yourself, and ponder deeply what is beneficial for you and what is harmful. Find alternative ways to entertain your mind and soul:
- move away from reading altogether; try listening to audiobooks
- have the Quran in front of you, so to remind you and make you turn away from the wrong
- listen to religious and spiritual songs
- listen to speeches of inspirational scholars and academics
- subscribe to online courses, religious and otherwise worldly, related to your studies and work
Check this related reader and the answers in the reader:
A Reader on Tawba (Repentance) – SeekersGuidance
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SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)
May Allah (Most High) give you ease and relief from the illness.
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His personal interest is the love of books and gardening.
