Does the verse “Do you enjoin righteousness upon people” apply to one who has a television in his house?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : We have a brother who is the imam of a mosque. This brother, may Allah bless him, orders people to remove the television from their homes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He has a television in his house. Does the statement of Allah the Exalted,[Al-Baqarah 2:44], apply to him?
The Shaykh : You mean the television is in his house?
The questioner : Yes, it is in his house. How do people use it? They use it for music, games, and these things.
The Shaykh : Well, why did you ask this question instead of asking the Shaykh whose house is free of a television?
The questioner : But I asked him a question, and I dislike him for it.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : You asked the question, and he said he dislikes it and hopes to remove it.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is enough.
The questioner : The master of the house means he is the owner of the house and the one in control of its affairs.
The Shaykh : That is enough. He has given you the answer that should silence you, so perhaps you should be silent.
The questioner : The point is, does the verse carry a meaning other than this, meaning it is not permissible to read it?
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. Put this heat of yours in this question in a place other than this.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : First, the man may be one who is ruled over rather than one who rules. In that case, he may be excused or he may not be excused in the sight of Allah. And we cannot enter and reveal what is in people’s hearts, as in the authentic hadith: Since he told you that he dislikes it, this means he is either overpowered by his wife, meaning his wife, or by an adult son he has, or so on. It is sufficient for you to hear from him what you heard of his dislike for it, and the matter is ended.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh.
The Shaykh: And there is a bar.
The questioner : Is it permissible for us to admonish people about something like this, and we said “such a brother”?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him to admonish people.
The questioner : I mean, in a matter like this, it is permissible, if Allah wills. May Allah bless you, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.
The questioner : One more question.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, the mercy of Allah, and His blessings. This is from us, our Shaykh. It is clear from your side. What will come is the setting up. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He has a television in his house. Does the statement of Allah the Exalted,
Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَThe Shaykh : You mean the television is in his house?
The questioner : Yes, it is in his house. How do people use it? They use it for music, games, and these things.
The Shaykh : Well, why did you ask this question instead of asking the Shaykh whose house is free of a television?
The questioner : But I asked him a question, and I dislike him for it.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : You asked the question, and he said he dislikes it and hopes to remove it.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is enough.
The questioner : The master of the house means he is the owner of the house and the one in control of its affairs.
The Shaykh : That is enough. He has given you the answer that should silence you, so perhaps you should be silent.
The questioner : The point is, does the verse carry a meaning other than this, meaning it is not permissible to read it?
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. Put this heat of yours in this question in a place other than this.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : First, the man may be one who is ruled over rather than one who rules. In that case, he may be excused or he may not be excused in the sight of Allah. And we cannot enter and reveal what is in people’s hearts, as in the authentic hadith:
He split open his heart
شققت عن قلبهThe questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh.
The Shaykh: And there is a bar.
The questioner : Is it permissible for us to admonish people about something like this, and we said “such a brother”?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for him to admonish people.
The questioner : I mean, in a matter like this, it is permissible, if Allah wills. May Allah bless you, our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.
The questioner : One more question.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, the mercy of Allah, and His blessings. This is from us, our Shaykh. It is clear from your side. What will come is the setting up. Yes.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، المجلس 1138 — d3watuna.com (5:58)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.