The Ruling on Preserving the Artifacts of Disbelievers

The questioner:
May Allah guide you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks: Is there any pride in preserving the civilization of destroyed nations, and in making museums and models of their kings, their tools, and other things?

The Shaykh:
This is not permissible. It is not permissible to preserve the artifacts of disbelievers, especially those related to worshipping other than Allah, such as idols. It is not permissible to search for these; this is not permissible, because it promotes paganism. Even if the current generation has faith and knowledge, another generation will come later. Satan is present; Satan is present. He is the one who dictated to 'Amr ibn Luhay, the governor of the people of Makkah, to dig up the idols that had been buried under the ground and bring them out to distribute among the tribes. He did this, and shirk (associating partners with Allah) occurred among the people of the Hijaz. They abandoned the religion of Ibrahim because of this, because of the idols that were distributed among them. Satan is always present and active. Therefore, it is not permissible to preserve the artifacts of disbelief and the artifacts of shirk. Yes. Collecting them and... Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah bless you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says:

The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) destroyed the idols. He destroyed them, smashed them, and burned them. How can we search for them, cultivate them, beautify them, and make them a place of visitation? It is not permissible. Yes.