As-salam Aliekum, Brother, my question consists of 3 parts. As I have already mentioned, I have a terrible addiction called Masturbation.

1- first question: is masturbating Haram and if yes, what level of sin is it(in comparison to Zinah)

2. Today I couldn't resist my addiction and I masturbated in Ramadan while I was fasting. I kinda knew in my heart that it will probably break my fast but I did it anyways. What becomes of my fasting, Is it ruined? and how do I make it up?

3. Brother! Help me, How do I defeat this addiction that ruined my Ibadah! I repented numerous times, but I went back and did the sin again. will my Tawbah(repentance) ever be accepted? Its torturing my conscience..Jazzakumallah.

All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on His last messenger, Muhammad,

No one of the scholars condones the practice of masturbation in regular conditions. It is makrooh (detestable), unless one is about to fall in zina. This is not a peculiar position of Imam Ahmad. In fact, the hanafis maintained its prohibition, with the exception of that case. The popular position within the hanbali madh-hab is similar to that of the hanafis. Imam Ibn Hazm permitted it, though he stressed that it is unbefitting for a man with complete integrity of character.

Your fasting is ruined by masturbation. You will need to make up by fasting a day in place of the day you lost. You will need to also sincerely repent, because while the ruling on masturbation may be somewhat controversial, violating the sacredness of the month of Ramadan and breaking the fast during its days is an enormity (kabeerah) by agreement.

Your repentance is always accepted as long as it is sincere. You must have the determination to give up the sin at the time of repentance. If you relapse back into the sin, don’t despair, but rather repeat the repentance, for Allah will forgive you as long as you are sincere in your repentance and you didn’t give up on it. Having said that, it is important that you do your best to give up all sins. As for the detestable habit of masturbation, you should try to draw closer to Allah in general and be more observing of Him. You may also want to get married if you are not. Surround yourself with a righteous company. Keep busy with matters of high esteem that are of benefit for you in this life and the one to come. Keep your body physically fit and your mind clear and focused. Finally, show humility to Allah and supplicate to Him to rid you of that habit. If you fear from zina, then masturbation is certainly better than falling in that enormous sin.

Allah knows best.