The ruling on watching matches and wasting time in them
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
An important question: What is the benefit of watching? How does a person waste his time watching a match?
Answer:
What can I tell you? If it is at a time when it does not lead to neglecting an obligatory prayer, and it is not in a forbidden place at a specific time, such as the time of Duha or after 'Isha', and if the benefit is great, then there is no harm. For example, among private students or among good people. Generally, it is said to be forbidden. What is forbidden is what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and what is permissible is what Allah and His Messenger have permitted. However, this has causes and means, so if it leads to something forbidden, it becomes forbidden in any place.
An important question: What is the benefit of watching? How does a person waste his time watching a match?
Answer:
What can I tell you? If it is at a time when it does not lead to neglecting an obligatory prayer, and it is not in a forbidden place at a specific time, such as the time of Duha or after 'Isha', and if the benefit is great, then there is no harm. For example, among private students or among good people. Generally, it is said to be forbidden. What is forbidden is what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and what is permissible is what Allah and His Messenger have permitted. However, this has causes and means, so if it leads to something forbidden, it becomes forbidden in any place.
Source
أخلاق المؤمنين والمؤمنات — islamhouse.com (1:21:01)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.