The Ruling on Visiting the Ruins of the Punished Disbelievers
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Allah has informed us of this. Visiting the ruins of the fathers, such as the cities of the punished, for the sake of a lesson and a warning, is there a problem with that now?
The Shaykh:
Intending to visit them and traveling to them is not permissible. As for a person who is traveling to Sham or elsewhere and they are on his way, there is no harm in him entering them, on the condition that he is not pleased or amazed by their works and civilization, as they say, and that he admires their civilization and is impressed by their works. This is not permissible. But he enters them for the sake of a lesson, just as it is permissible to visit the ruins for the sake of a lesson and a warning. He enters them as ruins and civilization, as they say, or for tourism; this is not permissible. And it is not permissible for him to travel to them. But if he passes by them on his way, there is no harm in him entering them for the sake of a lesson, and not entering them is better. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions when they passed by them on their way to Sham:Sahih al-Bukhari 4420, Sahih al-Bukhari 4420. Or a person enters them from the perspective of expansion and broad-mindedness and policy, meaning this is admiration for their actions and plans, and that is not permissible.
The questioner:
Is this specific to the places of the punished, or does it apply to all ruins?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
The extent of the world.
The Shaykh:
Yes, the intended meaning is the ruins of the punished disbelievers, where the punishment fell upon the disbelievers. These are the ones to be avoided. As for the remaining ruins, if this is in the category of reviving the ruins, this leads to seeking blessing from them, even in the long run. So leaving these things and neglecting them, as the Salaf neglected them, as the Companions neglected them. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not care for these ruins, nor did he go to revive them and define them. And the Companions did not do that, nor did the blessed generations. So reviving them and caring for them leads to polytheism, even in the long run. Yes.
Allah has informed us of this. Visiting the ruins of the fathers, such as the cities of the punished, for the sake of a lesson and a warning, is there a problem with that now?
The Shaykh:
Intending to visit them and traveling to them is not permissible. As for a person who is traveling to Sham or elsewhere and they are on his way, there is no harm in him entering them, on the condition that he is not pleased or amazed by their works and civilization, as they say, and that he admires their civilization and is impressed by their works. This is not permissible. But he enters them for the sake of a lesson, just as it is permissible to visit the ruins for the sake of a lesson and a warning. He enters them as ruins and civilization, as they say, or for tourism; this is not permissible. And it is not permissible for him to travel to them. But if he passes by them on his way, there is no harm in him entering them for the sake of a lesson, and not entering them is better. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions when they passed by them on their way to Sham:
Do not enter upon these people who are being punished, except in a weeping state
لا تدخلوا على هؤلاء المعذبين إلا أن تكونوا باكينlest the same calamity as of theirs should befall you
أَنْ يُصِيبَكُمْ مِثْلُ مَا أَصَابَهُمْThe questioner:
Is this specific to the places of the punished, or does it apply to all ruins?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
The extent of the world.
The Shaykh:
Yes, the intended meaning is the ruins of the punished disbelievers, where the punishment fell upon the disbelievers. These are the ones to be avoided. As for the remaining ruins, if this is in the category of reviving the ruins, this leads to seeking blessing from them, even in the long run. So leaving these things and neglecting them, as the Salaf neglected them, as the Companions neglected them. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not care for these ruins, nor did he go to revive them and define them. And the Companions did not do that, nor did the blessed generations. So reviving them and caring for them leads to polytheism, even in the long run. Yes.
Source
زيارة الآثار للعظة وللعبرة — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.