Musleh al Umma Maulana Wasiullah Allahabadi (Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that these days we are shy to mention the topic of sexual desires. It is thought to be something vulgar and beyond the limits of religious decorum. Whereas, our Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) explicitly mentions this topic high lighting the importance of controlling these desires, availing them within the permissible means and warning us about the destruction if they are left unchecked.

Moreover, as quoted above there are many Prophetic supplications asking Allah for assistance in this regards. In spite of being the best of mankind and infallible Prophet  (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) he asked Allah for help. Most likely  he did this to instruct us to be vigilant in this regards and  not to take these desires lightly. Many have fallen into destruction due to them.

Also, we learn from these Prophetic instructions that these desires are powerful, persuasive and difficult to remove with our efforts alone. Divine assistance is required to control them effectively.  For this reason we should make it a habit to ask Allah for help in this regards.

The tip to remember is that Divine assistance comes only to those who keep on trying their best to control these desires.

Hakim al Umma Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi was aware of the importance of instructing his associates (mureedeen) regarding this topic. He would often recite the following verses,

Save your semen! Don’t let it flow to waste

For it is the (precious) water that creates life when poured in the right place

Majalis e Musleh al Ummat Ra, volume 5, second majlis paraphrased

We have to tackle this issue with more vigilance. The opportunities for fulfilling sexual desires are plentiful and readily available. The newer technologies are developed to guarantee confidentiality and secrecy. The exposure to immoral sexual imagery is abundant. Especially affected are the naïve, curious and immature adolescents. Their developing minds are corrupted and it becomes a lifelong struggle to remove these thoughts or succumb to them.

The only cure for this is by sincere persistent effort and asking Allah for help. These two components result in a vigilant awareness of accountability in front of Allah and this stops an individual from all that is immoral.

May Allah facilitate this for us. Amin!