Will I Be Forgiven for Abandoning a Sin during Committing It?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If a person sees a naked woman on social media, gets tempted and gets up to do masturbation. Then he remembered in his mind that “Allah is watching me, Allah is watching me”. Before he commits the sin he turns his screen off, but ends up with ejaculation due to the temptation. Will he be forgiven for abandoning a sin during committing it?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Abandoning a sin, no matter how near one comes to committing it, is a good thing and a sign of mindfulness of Allah Most High (taqwa). 

Even though you did not masturbate even though you were tempted to do so, you should still repent for looking at the naked woman on social media. 

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) narrates that Allah Most High says, “Verily the impermissible glance is a poisonous arrow of the arrows of Iblis (Shaytan). Whoever abandons it due to fear of Me, I will give them in exchange faith, the sweetness of which can be found in their heart.” [Tabarani]

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.