Ruling on watching TV

[bamalli]

Ruling on watching TV

Question:
Is watching TV permitted in Islaam ? If so under what coditions ?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

The issue of watching films is not free from numerous reservations from a shar?i point of view, such as uncovering ?awraat, listening to music, spreading corrupt beliefs and calling for imitation of the kuffaar. Allaah has commanded us to lower our gaze, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

?Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts). That is purer for them. Verily, All?h is All-Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)? [al-Noor 24:30-31].

Since lowering the gaze is the basis of protecting the private parts, it is mentioned first. Allaah has made the eyes the reflection of the heart: if a person lowers his gaze, the desire in his heart will be reduced, but if a person looks and stares, the desire in his heart will be provoked.

In Saheeh Muslim (1218) it is reported that Al-Fadl ibn ?Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) was riding behind the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm al-Nahr) from Muzdalifah to Mina, when some women riding on camel-borne sedan chairs passed by. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned his [al-Fadl?s] head away. This was prevention and denunciation through action, for if looking were permissible he would have approved of what he did.

In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (6343) it is reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ?Every son of Adam has his share of zinaa decreed for him, and he will undoubtedly get his share. The eye commits zinaa and its zinaa is looking. The tongue commits zinaa and its zinaa is speaking; the feet commit zinaa and their zinaa is walking; the hands commit zinaa and their zinaa is touching. The heart longs and desires for something and the private parts confirm that or deny it.?

He began by mentioning the eye because this is how the zinaa of the hand, foot, heart and private parts begins. By mentioning the zinaa of the tongue, he pointed out that the mouth can commit zinaa by speaking. And he stated that the private parts can confirm that if they make the deed happen, or deny it if that does not happen.

This hadeeth gives the clearest indication that the eye can sin by looking and that this is its zinaa. This is a refutation to those who say that looking is allowed in all circumstances.

It was also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ?O ?Ali, do not follow a look with a second, for the first look is allowable but not the second.?

A look has the same effect on the heart as an arrow has on its victim. If it does not kill him, it will wound him. It is like a spark of fire in dried grass; if it does not burn all of it, it will still burn some of it. May Allaah have mercy on the one who said:

?Everything starts with a look, and big fires start from little sparks.

How often has a heart been dealt a fatal blow like that of an arrow, with no need for a bow.

As long as a man?s eyes are looking around, looking into the eyes of others, he is in a state of danger.

His eye delights in that which could destroy his heart. The joy that may lead to harm is not welcome.?

Hence Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Fataawa 3/227:

With regard to television, it is a dangerous device and its harmful effects are very great, like those of the cinema, or even worse. We know from the research that has been written about it and from the words of experts in Arab countries and elsewhere enough to indicate that it is dangerous and very harmful to Islamic beliefs (?aqeedah), morals and the state of society. This is because it includes the presentation of bad morals, tempting scenes, immoral pictures, semi-nakedness, destructive speech, and Kufr. It encourages imitation of their conduct and ways of dressing, respect for their leaders, neglect of Islamic conduct and ways of dressing, and looking down on the scholars and heroes of Islam. It damages their image by portraying them in an off-putting manner that makes people despise them and ignore them. It shows people how to cheat, steal, hatch plots and commit acts of violence against others. Undoubtedly anything that produces so many bad results should be stopped and shunned, and we have to close all the doors that could lead to it. If some of our brothers denounce it and speak out against it, we cannot blame them, because this is a part of sincerity towards Allaah and towards other people.

Whoever thinks that this device (TV) can be free of these evils and can be used only for good purposes if it is censored properly is exaggerating and is making a big mistake, because the censor may miss things and most people nowadays want to imitate the foreigners. It is very rare to find censors who are doing their job properly, especially nowadays when most people are only interested in time-wasting entertainment and things that turn people away from true guidance. Reality bears witness to that.

We ask Allaah to keep us safe from all evil for He is the Most Generous.

[ummita]

Mhmmmmm.....................TV has not been completedly ruled out as haram. There is only one area that arguments supports why people should show less interest in watching TV and everyone is just going on about that one reason over and over again, like a hampster on a wheel.........& dat one reason is the observance of "inappropriate stuff" and thats all to it. Though less discussed are the positive impact TV it has on society as a whole! (i.e educational enlightenment)

Yet I have witnessed where critics have ruled that watching TV is haram & against Islamic teachings and all  of this is consequential to acts of some pesky bois that watch what aint right........which is washing away benefits of TV!

Am not a TV person & I can go months without flicking my set.......busy life conditions doesnt even permit me time to settle down for TV but when luck befalls me & I do.........I watch what is right 4 my eyes! Tom & Jerry: my all time fave! So point in line: TV is not haram if you watch what is right......Khalas!

[ummita]

And plz...........no1 shud reply me wit Tom & Jerry is haram 2 watch cus I hav heard that b4, but is it trully?  ???

[Dan-Borno]

Islam alwayz looks at the benefit a person drive from a worldly thing.  If you still insist that the like of Tom and Jerry is not haram, that means it is Halal for you.

If it is halal, go ahead and list the benefits we will drive from watching T and J please.

[ummita]

Even if it has no benefits, Islams does not purport that TV is strictly haram neither is Tom & Jerry. Whats so wrong about Looney toons?

Plus I didnt say people should watch Tom & Jerry because it has major benefits, least it still does in a way!
Advantages?.....Ok, stress reliever, humorous, atleast it keeps you away from things that might be sinful! A'a even though it doesn't really provide any religious or educational purpose, it is entertaining........And dnt u think shows like that could abstain ppl from watching anything "unholy".

Dan-Borno if you were asked to pick a lesser of 2 evils. "wat aint right 2 watch" & Tom & Jerry, which one wud u go 4? ...........Exactly! & I hav a whole collection of them!

TV aint haram for rightful purposes & neither is Tom & Jerry...........There r just too many obvious disadvantages to advantages  & pls, pls, pls........agree 2 disagree, babu inda addini ko Qur'an yayi fadan wai kallo TV haram neh!
Kai....Ajab maa klamah!

ok, ok on a serious note..........whats d rule on cartoons? >:(

[Dan-Borno]

INNAL HALALA BAYYINUN, WA INNAL HARAMA BAYYINUN, WA BAYNA HUMA UMURUN MUSHTABIHAT LA YA'ALAMU HUNNA KASIRUN MINAN NASI.

I rest my case

[NewEte]

Dan Borno, I have no idea what it is your wrote up there, but if I were to guess, I'd say it is against watching Tom and Jerry. I used to enjoy watching Tom and Jerry just for the laughs. Most cartoons evoke levity and that is the purpose. That can't be such a terrible thing can it?

For me, I would find it strange if someone declared that watching T.V is sinful. There are of course inapporpriate programs on T.V, and there are religious and family groups out there that pressure the government to censor certain shows/programs and impose huge fines on stations that air sexually explicit stuff.

I would imagine that the benefits of T.V outweigh the arguments against it by far. In most cases, one can actually program his/her set to show only select stations. This is similar to parental controls that parents use to monitor the content of the T.V programming that their kids have access to. I think Gen. Buhari once in an interview had told a reporter that he enjoys watching the Discovery channel. Discovery is not a cable station here in the US, and I enjoy it as well because of the enormous wealth of knowledge and information one can derive from their programming.

I watch BBC, CNN, and other World News on T.V so I'll be conversant with event around the World. That is not a bad thing. Information as you know is powerful and T.V is a powerful medium of information. It is perhaps one of the biggest techological revolution of this century.

But here is my question, if watching T.V is sinful, how about surfing the internet where very little control exist even if certain sites are blocked. So is it then sinful to watch T.V, but not sinful to be on the internet? I don't know, I would be bored stiff if I had no access to T.V. I have my T.V on while I am working most of the time.

[Dan-Borno]

I have already rested my case, but you Ete, mind you, i am not against watching television, neither am I against T & J, what I am against is for Ummita to declare watching T & J as HALAL (dont mind, she knows what that means).

[alkanawi]

Dan-Borno if you were asked to pick a lesser of 2 evils. "wat aint right 2 watch" & Tom & Jerry, which one wud u go 4? ...........Exactly! & I hav a whole collection of them!
(

Omg,Omg !!!!!!!!!!! :o

[alkanawi]

On a serious note, TV is a just a medium of information and what we decide to channel through that medium is the issue at stake here.Careful observation of what we are being fed through TV would reveal the concern of those who are against TV.
I remember watching Madonna on Larry King show some years back and he was asking her about her little daughter,to my bemusement she said that TV is strictly off limits to her daughter.she doesn't allow her watch it and when asked why she said we all know what is on TV.And that is Madonna for Godsake.
More recently, just yesterday, a kid in Morroco accidently killed himself by hanging while mimicking Saddams' hanging as shown on tv.
What Bin Baz(rahimahullahu) was saying could not be faulted based on its merit,and if you had noticed carefully he didn't call it Haram(they are very careful about such pronouncements). He was merely saying that those who have denounced it have a genuine case and ought to be considered.This is akin to the initial "ayat" ruling on Alcohol,there is harm and there is some good but its harm outweigh its good.But in the long run it was totally banned.
As regards its benefit as a stress reliever,i would recommend a better one:"ala bi zikrillahi tadma'innal kulubi". Anyway Islam is a religion of moderation and if you feel you need to watch TV know what you watch and/or watch in moderation.As Ummita rightly pointed out there is no place in the two sources of shari'ah where it is declared as Haram therefore nobody has the right to outrightly declare it as so.
I have to quickly point out that all i said above is just my opinion as an ordinary person, who is not well versed enough to pass any ruling or counter any ruling given by the experts.
"May Allah reward us for what we said right and forgive us on what we did wrong"