Will Allah Punish Me with Blindness If I Struggle to Avoid Sins?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
In desperation, I once prayed that Allah punish me with blindness if I returned to watching pornography. I fell into it again and now live in constant fear, feeling I must avoid every sin or face this punishment. I also worry I am a hypocrite for breaking my word, like those mentioned in Surat al-Tawba [9:75]. Will Allah punish me with blindness if I struggle to avoid sins?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
Allah Most High says: “Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.” [Quran, 2:286] This includes His dealing with us when we fall into sin.
Your situation highlights two essential matters: sincere repentance and unhealthy despair. It is true that making vows or oaths one cannot uphold is discouraged, but breaking such a vow does not mean Allah will inevitably punish you with what you feared. Allah is more Merciful to His servants than they are to themselves. What is required is to repent sincerely, seek forgiveness, and continue striving.
Pornography is indeed a serious sin, but its cure lies in gradual discipline, consistent tawba, and seeking Allah’s help, not in vows that create unbearable fear. You are not a hypocrite for struggling; hypocrisy is to outwardly show faith while inwardly rejecting it. Falling into sin while believing it is wrong is weakness, not hypocrisy.
Practical Guidance
- Turn back to Allah with sincere repentance (tawba): remorse, stopping the sin, and resolving to avoid it.
- Break the cycle of despair by remembering Allah’s vast Mercy. Excessive fear that paralyzes you is from Shaytan.
- Replace pornography with halal, fulfilling alternatives: healthy relationships, purposeful routines, and regular worship.
- If you swore an oath, expiate it (kaffara) by feeding or clothing the poor if applicable, and do not make such vows again.
Trust Allah’s Mercy. He wants your sincere effort, not perfection overnight. Keep struggling, repent whenever you fall, and know that Allah loves those who return to Him.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
