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Fatwa CenterIs watching pornographic films a grave major sin?
Question
Is watching porno movies a grave major sin? What is the evidence of that?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
Imaam Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami 
said in his book Ath-Thawaajir, “Some prominent Muslim scholars said that there is nothing called minor sins; they believed that all sins are major sins. In fact, they are called minor sins in comparison to graver ones.”
Undeniably, watching porno movies is forbidden; Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts.} [Quran 24:30]
Moreover, watching such porn movies results in numerous diseases of the soul, hardening of the heart, abstaining from what is lawful, i.e. having sexual intercourse with one’s wife, having the audacity to commit immorality and sins, and being rather lax regarding committing such wrongdoings.
Moreover, we believe that watching these porno films is a major sin for two reasons:
1- Scholars stated that the Muslim man looking lustfully at a non-Mahram woman when there is a probability of his being tempted is a grave sin.
Imaam Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami said, “The grave sin number 242 is looking lustfully at a non-Mahram woman with the fear of falling into a sinful act.”
In fact, if looking lustfully at a non-Mahram woman with the fear of falling into a sinful act is a grave sin, then watching porn movies, a fortiori, is a grave sin; these obscene movies enable the viewer to see non-Mahram women’s ‘Awrahs that he cannot see anywhere else except with difficultly. Additionally, the viewer sees such obscene scenes over and over again, which has evil repercussions; when one watches such porn movies, it often leads to sexual arousal and this drives the viewer to commit countless sins such as masturbation and fornication.
2- Scholars believed that insistence on committing minor sins is a grave sin; as Ibn ‘Abbaas 
said, “There is no minor sin with determination and insistence.”
Finally, we would like to advise you, dear questioner, to eschew watching these movies that distort and corrupt the morals of the Muslim youth, and if you have watched such pornographic films, then you should hasten to repent for this grave sin; for the one who repents of a sin is like the one who has not committed it in the first place.
Allaah Knows Best
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