What is your opinion regarding television?
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The questioner : Your opinion regarding television?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Television?
The Shaykh : My opinion regarding television?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to bring it into the Muslim home, because its harm still outweighs its benefit. First, it is a very powerful tool for distracting those afflicted by looking at it. I say this because the radio also has harm, though less than the harm of television. However, the radio differs from television in two respects:
The first is what I mentioned earlier, that its harm is less than the harm of television, and its distraction of the household is less.
Second and finally: it can be managed by one who is concerned with directing it toward the good simply by moving the button. As for television, as soon as the enticing image appears on the screen, this image dominates the viewers, enslaving them time after time and round after round. It becomes a habit, and at that point, television becomes one of the most harmful entertainments for the household. It is no longer a secret among the masses that in a house where there is a television, the people of that house cannot be among those who do not stay up late or linger behind the television. What keeps them lingering and staying up late is nothing but these images that seize the hearts. This is sufficient to make it a forbidden tool to use, even from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, because it leads its owners to contradict the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his prohibition of lingering after the 'Isha' prayer. This is my answer.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Television?
The Shaykh : My opinion regarding television?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible to bring it into the Muslim home, because its harm still outweighs its benefit. First, it is a very powerful tool for distracting those afflicted by looking at it. I say this because the radio also has harm, though less than the harm of television. However, the radio differs from television in two respects:
The first is what I mentioned earlier, that its harm is less than the harm of television, and its distraction of the household is less.
Second and finally: it can be managed by one who is concerned with directing it toward the good simply by moving the button. As for television, as soon as the enticing image appears on the screen, this image dominates the viewers, enslaving them time after time and round after round. It becomes a habit, and at that point, television becomes one of the most harmful entertainments for the household. It is no longer a secret among the masses that in a house where there is a television, the people of that house cannot be among those who do not stay up late or linger behind the television. What keeps them lingering and staying up late is nothing but these images that seize the hearts. This is sufficient to make it a forbidden tool to use, even from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, because it leads its owners to contradict the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his prohibition of lingering after the 'Isha' prayer. This is my answer.