The ruling on traveling to Mada'in Saleh for tourism
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. The Honorable Shaykh says: What is the ruling on traveling to Mada'in Saleh, as I wish to go there for tourism?
Answer:
It is not permissible to travel specifically to view historical sites. If these sites are associated with shirk (associating partners with Allah), such as shrines and places of worship dedicated to other than Allah, then it is not permissible, and it is a forbidden journey, because it is a means to shirk. However, if these sites belong to disbelievers and are not used for worship, then there is no harm in entering them if one passes by them on his way, but he should not enter them except for the sake of taking a lesson, not for recreation. For taking a lesson, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: lest what befell them befall you.
So if he passes by them on his way, and he did not intend them nor travel to them, but merely passed by on the road, then it is permissible for him to enter them for the sake of taking a lesson and drawing a warning, not for recreation or for admiring the civilization, as they say, the ancient civilizations. No, this is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not enter them unless you are weeping, lest what befell them befall you. The bottom line is that it is not permissible to travel specifically to stand at these historical sites. However, if he passes by them on his way, and he did not travel for their sake, but rather traveled for a permissible purpose, then there is no harm in his entering them for the sake of taking a lesson.
May Allah reward you. The Honorable Shaykh says: What is the ruling on traveling to Mada'in Saleh, as I wish to go there for tourism?
Answer:
It is not permissible to travel specifically to view historical sites. If these sites are associated with shirk (associating partners with Allah), such as shrines and places of worship dedicated to other than Allah, then it is not permissible, and it is a forbidden journey, because it is a means to shirk. However, if these sites belong to disbelievers and are not used for worship, then there is no harm in entering them if one passes by them on his way, but he should not enter them except for the sake of taking a lesson, not for recreation. For taking a lesson, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
(peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions when they passed by the dwellings of Thamud, and they were heading toward Thamud: Do not enter upon these punished people,
صلى الله عليه وسلم لأصحابه لما مروا على ديار ثمود وهم ذاهبون إلى ثمود قال لهم لا تدخلوا على هؤلاء المعذبين،unless you are weeping, fearing that what befell them may befall you
إلا أن تكونوا باكين خشية أن يصيبكم ماSo if he passes by them on his way, and he did not intend them nor travel to them, but merely passed by on the road, then it is permissible for him to enter them for the sake of taking a lesson and drawing a warning, not for recreation or for admiring the civilization, as they say, the ancient civilizations. No, this is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not enter them unless you are weeping, lest what befell them befall you. The bottom line is that it is not permissible to travel specifically to stand at these historical sites. However, if he passes by them on his way, and he did not travel for their sake, but rather traveled for a permissible purpose, then there is no harm in his entering them for the sake of taking a lesson.
Source
السفر لمشاهدة الآثار — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.