The Ruling on Visiting Ancient Ruins for the Purpose of Warning and Reflection
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Visiting ruins for the purpose of warning and reflection, is there any harm in that?
The Shaykh:
Intending to travel to them is not permissible. However, if a person is traveling to Sham and they are on his route, there is no harm in him entering them, on the condition that he is weeping, and that he is pleased and amazed by the works and civilization, as they say, and that these are people of civilization and he is impressed by their works. This is not permissible. But he enters them for the sake of taking a lesson, just as it is permissible to enter a cemetery for the sake of taking a lesson and warning. It is more indicative that it is a place of civilization, as they say, for the sake of tourism. This is not permissible.
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 except for the sake of taking a lesson. 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 disciplined people unless you areSahih al-Bukhari 4420 struck by what struck them. Or a person enters from the perspective of expansion, broad-mindedness, and tourism, meaning this is admiration for the actions of the disbelievers, which is not permissible.
The questioner:
Is this specific to the complex places and the rest of the ruins?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
This.
The Shaykh:
The intended meaning is the ruins of the disbelievers who were punished, in which punishment befell the disbelievers. These are the ones to be avoided. As for the remaining ruins, if this is from the perspective 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 Sunnah neglected them, as the Companions neglected them. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not take these ruins, nor did he go to revive them and define them, nor did the Companions do so, nor did the blessed generations. Reviving them and caring for them leads to polytheism, even in the long run. Yes.
Visiting ruins for the purpose of warning and reflection, is there any harm in that?
The Shaykh:
Intending to travel to them is not permissible. However, if a person is traveling to Sham and they are on his route, there is no harm in him entering them, on the condition that he is weeping, and that he is pleased and amazed by the works and civilization, as they say, and that these are people of civilization and he is impressed by their works. This is not permissible. But he enters them for the sake of taking a lesson, just as it is permissible to enter a cemetery for the sake of taking a lesson and warning. It is more indicative that it is a place of civilization, as they say, for the sake of tourism. This is not permissible.
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 except for the sake of taking a lesson. 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 disciplined people unless you are
except in a weeping state, lest the same calamity as of theirs should
إلا أن تكونوا باكين، أن يصيبكم مثل ماThe questioner:
Is this specific to the complex places and the rest of the ruins?
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
This.
The Shaykh:
The intended meaning is the ruins of the disbelievers who were punished, in which punishment befell the disbelievers. These are the ones to be avoided. As for the remaining ruins, if this is from the perspective 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 Sunnah neglected them, as the Companions neglected them. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not take these ruins, nor did he go to revive them and define them, nor did the Companions do so, nor did the blessed generations. Reviving them and caring for them leads to polytheism, even in the long run. Yes.
Source
شرح الكافية الشافية في الانتصار للفرقة الناجية [ القصيدة النونية ] [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من قوله : وهو القوي له القوى جمعا تعالى الله ذو الأكوان والسلطان — islamhouse.com (54:24)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.