Modern era is a very different and unique era in human history. The problems that are emerging in this age are very different in nature and cannot be solved by traditional methods. One of the most important and fundamental of these issues is pornography, which will be discussed today.
The structure of human beings
The history of pornography is probably as old as man himself. The source of this is the structure of man in which Allah Almighty has made special arrangements for the continuity of humanity that the relationship between man and woman has gone beyond a mere animal relationship and made it a very attractive psychological experience. This psychological attraction leads to a long relationship. This long relationship is the only support of the child who is born the weakest of all animals and needs the protection and support of parents for a period of ten to twelve years.
Therefore, in view of this wisdom, Allah Almighty did not make the relationship between man and woman as a simple animal relationship, who meet for a short time and then take their own path. On the contrary, this relationship is far more than just instinct, like it has been related to psychology, taste for beauty and sense of pleasure. And it has been related in such a way that many psychologists interpret man on the basis of this fact and look at every thought and action of man in this light.
God’s Wisdom
Due to this very structure of human beings, they always live together in the form of husband and wife and family. Because of this relationship a love bond is formed which gives them the courage to compete in every ease and difficulty of life, bear the burden of caring for children and bear the responsibility of elders in such a way that they carry them on their shoulders to the last resting place.
That was God’s original plan. That is why man was made different from animals. But God’s boundless wisdom also created the greatest test of human beings with the same spirit which was manifested in the form of the first human beings Hazrat Adam and Hawa (Eve). This incident also reveals the fact that this relationship is also the greatest weakness of human beings.
Thus Satan has been attacking human beings in the same way throughout human history and after arrogance it has proved to be the second greatest moral evil that kills human beings. The most extreme form of this is adultery and fornication on which Allah Almighty has promised severe punishment in this world and in the hereafter. But it has always been the way of the reformers to prevent even less. But man has always been involved in adultery and attachment to inferior things has been his way.
The Global Emergence of Pornography in the Modern Age
In modern times, Western civilization has trampled on the concept of chastity on the one hand, and on the other hand, invented new forms of things that bring it closer to adultery. Pornography is one of the things that started with the invention of the camera. From print media and then electronic media, these things began to spread to the general public. But on the one hand, human societies generally do not much like such things. Secondly, the people who made such things obviously did not do it free of cost. So money had to be spent on this work. Therefore, due to economic and social factors, their scope remained limited.
The situation remained the same until the Internet was invented in the last decade of the last century. There was a big bang of Information Age. After which all this material started to be transferred on the internet. In the beginning, this pornographic material was also available on the internet for money. But because of the privacy and easy availability of pornographic material on the Internet, it began to spread rapidly. Seeing the money, more and more people started coming down to this field. The porn industry currently has annual revenue of 97 billion dollars. In comparison, Hollywood’s revenue is about ten billion dollars a year and Bollywood’s is about two billion dollars a year. The revenue of these two international and largest film industries can be estimated that even if the small and local film industries of the rest of the world are combined, their combined revenue will be less than the revenue of the porn industry.
Reasons for the spread of pornography
However, as a rule, when more people enter a field, competition increases. Another limitation of the porn industry was that the more it was in demand in society, the more restrictions were placed on its advertising. Their advertisement cannot be published on any channel or in any newspaper. Even the big websites that run on advertisements do not put their advertisements in the public interest.
So they found a solution to this situation and started spreading their content on the net for free. They knew that on internet, people just have to type the name of the item they were looking for on a search engine to find a website, and all the means are immediately available. So people started watching free pornography with gusto. It was not the spirit of service to the people that provided these things for free, but the study of human psychology that adultery and fornication are the things to which one becomes addicted. So once a person starts coming to these free porn websites, the demand for it increases in a short period of time instead of disappearing.
This situation was further aggravated by the development of two more aspects of technology. One is that the speed of internet had been increasing. Where once downloading a picture was a tedious task, now it is very easy to watch the highest quality video or movie. On the other hand, the advent of smartphones has pushed computers into pockets. In this way, the interest and the number of the viewers also increased. And now the situation is that pornography has spread like a disease all over the world.
Now its social and moral implications are beginning to emerge. These include the weakening of marital relations and the breakdown of family, the end of marital happiness due to unrealistic perceptions and expectations, the misconceptions and attitudes of children and young people, the increase in crimes against women, and so on. However, these effects are still very small because the rise of pornography has begun in this era. Its full effects will be felt in the years to come when future generations will grow up to see it all.
Pakistan’s problem
The situation in Pakistan is worse in this regard. For the past several years, Pakistan has been one of the countries where pornography is more prevalent than other countries. Although pornographic websites are blocked in Pakistan and it is not possible to view them in general. On the other hand, so many loopholes have been opened that censorship alone cannot stop it. This requires some more measures that we would like to draw attention to.
The significance of these measures is further enhanced by the fact that some alternative systems of training remain in the West and the rest of the world and there is the rule of law. Therefore, they do not commit crimes like this even after watching pornography. Moreover, those societies are not as closed as our society. When closed societies open, many boundaries are crossed. The biggest manifestation of this is the incidence of abuse of innocent children in our country which has increased to alarming levels.
Way to improve the situation
The first step in this regard is the training process, especially the training of men. The tragedy of our religious thought is that in this matter it always presents the rules of religion from the side of women and their full veil, restricting their scope of work to the home and imposing complete ban on mixing of men and women. They just understand and explain it as the only real purpose of religious education.
Consider that these three things do not in any way deter men from viewing pornography who are mostly the victims of this temptation, while the original Qur’anic teaching of the religion in this case begins by training men and asking them to protect their eyes. With this rule in mind, all pornography automatically comes under it.
So the first reform that is needed is to change the basic concept of training in which the rules of the veil are addressed to the woman. Both men and women need to be told that God commands them to protect their eyes from being contaminated. This will happen in real life as well as on the internet. Whether one sees it or not, he is related to the one from whom the betrayals of the eyes and thoughts of the heart are not hidden. Therefore, keeping the eyes from wandering, which is the first basic commandment of the Qur’an in this chapter, when people keep this in mind they get the moral and religious basis and due to this, their conscience prevents them from falling into evil at that time, when there is no other stopper.
The other important thing is the fact that we have already pointed out that sexual dysfunction is like an addiction and an itching disease. In case of itching, one time itching gives temporary relief but after that the itching gets worse. The temporary relief of intoxication next time demands with more power and greater amount of intoxication. Therefore, on this basis, not only is adultery forbidden, but it is also forbidden to approach it, because the factors that lead to it, are like a magnet, they attract everyone who is in their circle. So staying out of this circle is the only safe way. In this context, it is necessary to constantly warn the people that Allah has not only prevented from committing adultery but also from approaching it. Repeated reminders of this command have the effect of leading a cautious life.
Allah Almighty has further arranged that the circle within which He wants to place human beings has also been stated by Him. It begins with the protection of the eye, along with the selection of modest clothing, and ends with the prohibition on the display of adornment for women in front of non-mahrams (Strangers to women as defined in the Quran). This is the natural sphere in which human beings do not usually cause any harm.
The concept of veil, which is traditionally presented in our country, is considered impractical and is not accepted by the majority of our society. Then they go ahead and trample on the limits that religion really demands. On the contrary, when the original rules are stated in a balanced way, people will find them more practical and adopt them. As a result, the vast majority of society will live a life of familiarity, which will contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.
The third thing that needs to be understood is that the film and media industry can no longer be taken out of collective life. However, they can be made familiar with the limits. If they are made aware of the boundaries then they can become your defensive line in this age of international competition and information age. The situation at the moment is that most of our people watch Hollywood and Bollywood movies and programs. Their semi-nude scenes, which are usually an integral part of them, are the first means of attracting the average viewer to watch nude and pornographic films.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to this issue in Pakistan and not to teach the people of the media industry the lesson of goodness that they have to quit their job and start preaching. Rather, they should be told that Allah has already given you the greatest means of preaching. Just use it within religious limits. But for that, one has to accept the opinion of those scholars who are not convinced of the sanctity of these things at all, but are convinced to keep them within the moral limits. This is not accepted by our religious thought. So this does not seem happening.
However, the best example in this regard is in Pakistan itself. We mean the dramas of the eighties in which writers, actors, voice actors attracted people with their creativity and were away from the moral taboos that are typical of the media. Our social decline has come in the media along with other fields, but recently Iran and Turkey have done a lot in the field of drama and have been very successful in some respects.
In addition, delays in marriages due to economic problems are a major reason why people view pornography. The young man who remains unmarried for fifteen or twenty years after puberty is more likely to fall into these things. And since it is an addiction, anyone who gets addicted to it will continue to be addicted even after marriage. Therefore, it is important that people try to solve this important social problem at their own level. Make sure your children get married at the right time and don’t delay unnecessarily.
Treatment of Addiction
One last question for those who are addicted. The fact is that people who are addicted to this get into a lot of trouble. On the one hand, their conscience constantly reprimands them and on the other hand, those who do not suffer from the sting of conscience in this way are definitely victims of fear because this thing is considered very offensive in the society. So they are always worried about what will happen if people find out. All of these aspects have a very negative effect on people’s psychology.
The way to get out of this addiction is to stay away from the things that lead to it. Just use the internet as much as you need. Do not use in solitude.
If you see any such content, immediately leave the place at the first moment. Under normal circumstances, even while watching TV, try to stay away from every scene that is causing moral pollution. Prayers, going to mosques, staying ablution, good companionship are also very helpful in solving this problem. And the most important thing is not to sit idle but to keep yourself engaged in some positive work. The mind of a useless person becomes a factory of Satan. So find a positive goal for yourself and keep yourself engaged in it.
In spite of all this, if you make a mistake, get out of it and repent immediately. Determine to avoid in the future. Repent after reciting two Nafils (non obligatory prayers). Do some charity. Because goodness removes evil. When Satan sees that every time he is led to evil, the result is constant repentance and more good deeds, his whispers will automatically diminish. Even then, if you are ever inclined towards this, remember the previous experience that in the end nothing was achieved except regret. Man is a mental being and as a result of constant training man changes. God willing, you will also change as a result of this process. In short, never give up and never give up the path of goodness. God willing, this habit will be gone.
Wherever you are, be a cause of mercy for the servants of Allah, do not be a cause of pain.