Ruling on Visiting Archaeological Museums That Contain Idols

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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. The questioner asks: Is it permissible to visit archaeological museums that contain idols?

Answer:
No, it is not permissible to visit idols, the remnants of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, or the remnants of the disbelievers, except for the sake of taking a lesson and being admonished. As for one who visits them while admiring them and saying, "This is a civilization, and by Allah, they had a civilization," and praising them, this is not permissible; this is not permissible. It is only for taking a lesson and being admonished. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the dwellings of Thamud, he said:

Do not enter upon these people who are being punished, except in a weeping state, lest the same calamity as of theirs should befall you...

لاَ تَدْخُلُوا عَلَى هَؤُلاَءِ الْمُعَذَّبِينَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَكُونُوا بَاكِينَ أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مِثْلُ مَا أَصَابَهُمْ

Sahih al-Bukhari 4420

. You do not visit for leisure, or to admire them, or because they are monuments to be proud of; this is not permissible. Yes, they remain as a lesson; they do not remain to be proud of. Yes,

So those are their houses, desolate because of the wrong they had

فَتِلْكَ بُيُوتُهُمْ خَاوِيَةً بِمَا ظَلَمُوا

[An-Naml 27:52]

because of what they did wrong. Look, Allah preserved them for taking a lesson and being admonished, not so that they would be monuments to boast about. Yes.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [2120 -3022] هل يجوز زيارة المتاحف الأثرية التي من محتوياتها الأصنام؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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