May the Shaykh be respected! The Muslim community is targeted by its enemies, who have pounced upon us from every direction.
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A questioner says: May the Shaykh be respected! The Muslim community is targeted by its enemies, who have pounced upon us from every direction. Their latest evil—and in my view, one of the most dangerous evils—is what is called the internet, which has invaded homes. Indeed, cafes have been opened for it, attended by children and youth before adults, and there are calls to open similar ones for women. The greatest thing displayed in these cafes is pornography and moral degradation. So what is your advice to us regarding dealing with this fitnah (trial, discord or temptation)? And what is the ruling on opening these cafes, where most of what is viewed is corruption? May Allah benefit you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against fitan (trials, discords or temptations) with the greatest warning, and he informed us that there would be fitan, one making the other seem mild. Whenever a fitnah occurs, people say: "The previous fitnah was milder than this." That is, the current fitnah makes the previous one seem mild and easy, because it is greater and more severe. This is the reality. People have grown weary, tired, and bored, and they have rejected satellite channels. Then came this internet, where a person can address a woman face-to-face and view whatever evil and corruption he desires. However, I have heard that our government—may Allah guide it—has placed a barrier against the spread of bad morals on the internet. This is something for which the government is to be thanked, and it indicates its good care for its people. And although it may control one aspect, it may not control every aspect, but it is on its way—Allah willing—to control all of this and prevent what harms the religion or morals. But the government is not everything, is it? Answer me, people. It is not everything. Rather, it is obligatory for the people themselves to fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic and to avoid what is harmful among what the internet publishes. And every person is a shepherd in his household and responsible for his flock. And by Allah, if we applied this responsibility about which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us, the people would be reformed. The people are individuals, people. Individuals composed of Adam’s descendants. If the owner of this house reformed his house, and the second reformed his house, and the third reformed his house, reform would proceed and the people would be reformed. But the problem, the problem, is that in the houses are men who are like men but are actually women. He barely controls his house. When he comes, he eats, sleeps, or goes to his shop and does not care. When he comes at night, he finds his wife on his bed, adorned for him, and he relieves himself with her and does not care. Is this a man? No, by Allah, he is not a man. The man is the one who checks on his family: what did they do? What did they do? Where did his sons and daughters go? And where did they return? Because he is responsible, responsible, responsible. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:[At-Tahrim 66:6] We were commanded to protect our families from the Fire. This means that we should raise them with an upbringing that protects them from the Fire. But unfortunately, many men are not men; rather, they are like men but are not men.
A questioner says: May the Shaykh be respected! The Muslim community is targeted by its enemies, who have pounced upon us from every direction. Their latest evil—and in my view, one of the most dangerous evils—is what is called the internet, which has invaded homes. Indeed, cafes have been opened for it, attended by children and youth before adults, and there are calls to open similar ones for women. The greatest thing displayed in these cafes is pornography and moral degradation. So what is your advice to us regarding dealing with this fitnah (trial, discord or temptation)? And what is the ruling on opening these cafes, where most of what is viewed is corruption? May Allah benefit you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against fitan (trials, discords or temptations) with the greatest warning, and he informed us that there would be fitan, one making the other seem mild. Whenever a fitnah occurs, people say: "The previous fitnah was milder than this." That is, the current fitnah makes the previous one seem mild and easy, because it is greater and more severe. This is the reality. People have grown weary, tired, and bored, and they have rejected satellite channels. Then came this internet, where a person can address a woman face-to-face and view whatever evil and corruption he desires. However, I have heard that our government—may Allah guide it—has placed a barrier against the spread of bad morals on the internet. This is something for which the government is to be thanked, and it indicates its good care for its people. And although it may control one aspect, it may not control every aspect, but it is on its way—Allah willing—to control all of this and prevent what harms the religion or morals. But the government is not everything, is it? Answer me, people. It is not everything. Rather, it is obligatory for the people themselves to fear Allah the Mighty and Majestic and to avoid what is harmful among what the internet publishes. And every person is a shepherd in his household and responsible for his flock. And by Allah, if we applied this responsibility about which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us, the people would be reformed. The people are individuals, people. Individuals composed of Adam’s descendants. If the owner of this house reformed his house, and the second reformed his house, and the third reformed his house, reform would proceed and the people would be reformed. But the problem, the problem, is that in the houses are men who are like men but are actually women. He barely controls his house. When he comes, he eats, sleeps, or goes to his shop and does not care. When he comes at night, he finds his wife on his bed, adorned for him, and he relieves himself with her and does not care. Is this a man? No, by Allah, he is not a man. The man is the one who checks on his family: what did they do? What did they do? Where did his sons and daughters go? And where did they return? Because he is responsible, responsible, responsible. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: