Does “Worshipping Feet” and Masturbation Make Someone a Kafir?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
My friend is under 16 years old. He has recently started praying but always fasted even before that. He has had a foot fetish from a young age. When he got older, he used to watch “foot worship” videos a few times a week, but he stopped recently. He knows it’s haram, but he’s addicted.
He also has fantasized about feet and has said, “I want to worship her feet.” Was that shirk? He masturbated when he was 12.5 years old, and something came out. He doesn’t know if it was sperm. When he found out that masturbation was haram, then he sincerely repented and left this sin.
However, about two years ago, before he was praying regularly, he masturbated on his cousin’s shoes and didn’t know if sperm exited or not. He doesn’t know if he intended to “worship” the boots.
Has he committed shirk? Is he a kafir? How does he repent and make up for this? Is he baligh? Does he truly fear Allah?
Answer
Please tell your friend that Allah is the Most Forgiving, Most-Merciful, and he should not despair from His mercy. Your friend was young, and Allah has guided him back to the truth by blessing him with praying five times a day. This means that Allah truly loves him, and he should continue on this path until he meets His Lord in sha Allah.
The phrase, “I want to worship her feet,” can be problematic in terms of committing shirk. Now, in context, his intention was sexual and was not in terms of worshipping other than Allah. To remedy this situation, he should say to the Shahadatayn, “I testify that there is no God but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His messenger.” I believe he has already said this in his prayers. He should also repent and ask Allah that he not be manipulated by the Shaytan again or by the devices of his nafs (ego) and desires.
As for the incidents of masturbation, I believe that it was the sperm that exited and that he is an adult Islamically. He may have brought on his puberty through sin, but it is nevertheless puberty. He has repented for this alhamdulillah.
As for masturbating on the shoes, this does not make him a kafir, as he was just committing a haram out of lust, lack of control, and bad judgment. I am happy to hear that he has repented and regrets his actions, and I pray that he continues to strive in the path of Allah.
Hope in Allah’s Mercy
Encourage him to hope in Allah’s mercy and to prove his seriousness by gaining knowledge about the religion and applying it as best he can.
Find solace in this hadith: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, said: ‘O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind. O son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you, and I would not mind. O Son of Adam! If you came to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.’” [Tirmidhi]
Please see the following links:
- Are Human Actions, Bida’, and Shirk Related …
- A Reader on Pornography and Masturbation
- Is Masturbation Sinful? How Do I Stop?
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
