A religious young man is suffering with the secret habit (masturbation) because of watching TV

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

The secret habit is haraam, as we have explained in the
answer to question no. 329, q.v.

You have to repent from this action by giving it up, and
regretting what you have done, and resolving not to go back to it.

Secondly:

The way to treat this bad habit is to understand the
devastating damage that it causes and to follow the advice given by
sharee’ah.

With regard to the harm caused by this secret habit,
researchers are agreed that it is harmful, and that it increases and gets
worse the more a person – whether male or female – does it. Researchers have
written a great deal about the psychological, intellectual and nervous
damage it causes, let alone the physical damage to the reproductive system,
the digestive system, the heart, the faculties and the body in general.

It is a good idea to
refer to some of the things that have been written about this habit.

Quoting from the book al-‘Aadah al-Sirriyyah ‘inda
al-rajul wa’l-mar’ah wa adraaruha (The secret habit among men and women
and the harm it causes) by Muhammad Faa’iq al-Jawhari:

This is in addition to the negative effects it has in the
spiritual realm – which is not mentioned by most researchers – of causing
the person to neglect prayers because of the need to repeat ghusl,
especially during the winter; and weakness of resolve in resisting the means
of immorality and provocation. In addition to that there is the sense of
psychological defeat which leads some people to forsake righteous friends,
because they feel that they do not deserve to be in their company, in
addition to it being one of the means of taking lightly immoral actions such
as zina and homosexuality.

Thirdly:

With regard to shar’i advice, we advise the following:

1 – Lower your gaze and avoid looking at haraam things. That
includes not looking at women on the TV, for the pictures of women that are
shown on the TV are one of the greatest causes of fitnah (temptation) and
provocation of desire. Forbidden looks are one of the arrows of the
Shaytaan. If you are fulfilling your desire by means of the secret habit
now, you will not be able to control this desire and prevent yourself from
satisfying it by means of other major sins that are even more serious, such
as homosexuality and zina.

2 – Avoiding being alone. The wolf only eats the sheep that
strays away from the flock, and the Shaytaan gains control over the man who
is on his own, but he is further away from two and even further away from
three.

3 – Fast a great deal. This is the advice of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to young men who are unable to
get married. Fasting is a way of disciplining oneself, lowering the gaze and
guarding one’s chastity.

4 – Making a lot of du’aa’, praying for forgiveness and
glorifying Allaah. Whoever keeps himself busy with this, the Shaytaan will
have no way to tempt him and lead him astray.

5 – Praying sincerely that Allaah will keep you away from
haraam things and whatever leads to them. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And your Lord said: Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness
(Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your
(invocation)”

[Ghaafir 40:60]

6 – Keeping company with
righteous people. A righteous friend will only show you the way to good.
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “It is enough
honour for my brothers that I do not disobey Allaah among them.”

See also the answer to question no.
3633, which explains the ruling on
watching TV. You can also see the answer to question no.
20229, which explains ways to help
you lower your gaze; and 20161,
which explains how to solve the problem of desire.

And Allaah knows best.