Discussing general news and events in gatherings
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, if a person turns on the radio and hears the news, or looks at any news channel, he hears that a bombing or killing has occurred. Then, in gatherings, there is a lot of discussion about what is happening in the world. Do these things have any good for our hearts? Are they beneficial for our hearts? Or should we discuss them to a certain extent? You have guided us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
General matters that concern the entire community fall within the jurisdiction of the rulers; they are the ones who examine them and look into their affairs. As for the general public, they have no say in these matters; their involvement in them brings nothing but harm. They should remain silent regarding these issues. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:83] This is out of fear [An-Nisa 4:83] and returning to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) during his lifetime, and returning to his Sunnah after his passing. Those who return to the Sunnah of the Messenger are the scholars.
They are the scholars. The rulers are the people of politics whom Allah has entrusted with authority over the Muslims. They possess experience in politics and understanding of affairs that we do not have. They are informed of things we are not. And the scholars know the Islamic legal rulings better than we do.
The general public have no involvement in these matters; they are the concern of the scholars and the rulers. May Allah help them with what is in the interest of Islam and the Muslims. It is obligatory that gatherings focus on what is good and beneficial, and leave aside matters that are not within their jurisdiction. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, if a person turns on the radio and hears the news, or looks at any news channel, he hears that a bombing or killing has occurred. Then, in gatherings, there is a lot of discussion about what is happening in the world. Do these things have any good for our hearts? Are they beneficial for our hearts? Or should we discuss them to a certain extent? You have guided us, may Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
General matters that concern the entire community fall within the jurisdiction of the rulers; they are the ones who examine them and look into their affairs. As for the general public, they have no say in these matters; their involvement in them brings nothing but harm. They should remain silent regarding these issues. Allah the Exalted said:
And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around
وَإِذَا جَاءَهُمْ أَمْرٌ مِّنَ الْأَمْنِ أَوِ الْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا بِهِBut if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.
وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰ أُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَنبِطُونَهُ مِنْهُمْThey are the scholars. The rulers are the people of politics whom Allah has entrusted with authority over the Muslims. They possess experience in politics and understanding of affairs that we do not have. They are informed of things we are not. And the scholars know the Islamic legal rulings better than we do.
The general public have no involvement in these matters; they are the concern of the scholars and the rulers. May Allah help them with what is in the interest of Islam and the Muslims. It is obligatory that gatherings focus on what is good and beneficial, and leave aside matters that are not within their jurisdiction. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-08-التحذير من الفتن|صالح الفوزان|العام|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:13:26)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.