Is it permissible to visit Mada'in Saleh for sightseeing and taking a lesson?

Question:
I ask Allah to do you good. Your Eminence, father, the questioner asks: Is it permissible to visit Mada'in Saleh for sightseeing and taking a lesson?

Answer:
As for intending to go there and traveling to it, it is not permissible. But if one passes by as a traveler without intending to go there, there is nothing wrong with entering it, on the condition that he is weeping and fearful, not merely sightseeing. He should not be sightseeing and at ease, or praising this state and this nation by what he finds of its ruins and boasting of it. This is not permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by it with his Companions on their way to Tabuk, to the expedition of Tabuk, and he said: "Do not enter upon these punished people unless you are weeping, lest what befell them befall you."
Going there for sightseeing and admiration is not permissible. But if one passes by without intending to go there and enters it for the sake of taking a lesson and fearing Allah the Exalted, there is nothing wrong with that.