I am a committed woman—praise be to Allah—and I want to raise my children with the correct Islamic upbringing. My husband, may Allah guide him, has a satellite dish—I mean
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The questioner : A questioner says: I am a committed woman—praise be to Allah—and I want to raise my children with the correct Islamic upbringing. My husband, may Allah guide him, has a satellite dish—I mean: the satellite channels and what is broadcast on them, and what is in them that one is ashamed to mention—and my husband allows my children to watch this dish, to the point that my children’s morals have changed. When I advised my husband to remove the dish from the house, he beat me severely. I want to divorce him, so what is your opinion, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : As for the husband, I offer him advice and say to him: Fear Allah regarding yourself, and fear Allah regarding your family. Know that you are responsible for this. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:[At-Tahrim 66:6]. This address, by which Allah the Exalted charged you to protect yourself and your family from the Fire, is something you will be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection.
Second: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2751. Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made you a shepherd over your family and charged you with responsibility. How do you bring this dish to them, when no one doubts the great evils broadcast on it, which have corrupted beliefs, ideas, morals, and etiquette? How do you accept this for yourself and for your family?
Undoubtedly, if what she mentioned is true, then she is in the right and the man is not in the right. In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:. We ask Allah for safety. And we ask so that we may look at whether this hadith applies to these people. First: We ask, did Allah appoint this man as a shepherd over a flock? Yes? Did Allah appoint him as a shepherd over a flock? Is it that by bringing this wicked, destructive machine to beliefs, thought, character, and action, is he an advisor or a deceiver?
The student: A deceiver.
The Shaykh : Good. If he dies, he falls under the hadith. If he dies, he falls under the hadith. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was categorical and generalized:Sahih Muslim 142a.
But we must know that we say this in a general sense, not in a specific sense, meaning: we do not testify that this specific man who brought the dish and enabled his family to access what is in it is himself barred from Paradise, because we do not know; perhaps he will repent. Perhaps he has great good deeds that will erase these sins. Perhaps Allah will forgive him. But in a general sense, there is no problem in our being categorical about what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And we must be categorical about what the Messenger said. But there is a difference between specifying and generalizing, between generalizing and specifying. Therefore, if a person has a neighbor who died while bringing this wicked machine to his family, it is not permissible for us to say to his family, "Your companion is barred by Allah from Paradise." Why? Because we do not specify. We do not specify for anyone, whether punishment or bliss, except what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) specified. Just as if we saw a person who is brave, courageous, and bold, fighting the enemies, and then he was killed in the front line, would we say he is a martyr? We do not say so? We do not say he is a martyr, even though the appearance of his action is that he is a martyr. But we do not say he is a martyr, because we do not know. The criterion is what is in the heart. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 3802. He said: "And Allah knows best." We do not know. Perhaps at the last moment, something happened to him that invalidates this deed. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) titled a chapter in his Sahih on this, saying: "Chapter: It is not said that so-and-so is a martyr". So good and evil, meaning punishment and reward, we do not testify for the specific person. But we testify in a general sense. You must note this. For this reason, we issued a sermon in which we clarified that whoever brings this wicked machine to his family is barred from entering Paradise. But we do not say so-and-so, son of so-and-so, is barred, even if he brought it to his family. And when we saw some people being surprised by this thing, and we feared that people would insult each other, so that everyone would come to a person who has a satellite dish and say to him, "Your father is barred from Paradise," and this would lead to some fitnah, we said that whoever does that, it is feared that the warning will apply to him. Yes.
The questioner : Does that mean the fatwa has changed, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, it has not changed in terms of the ruling. But in terms of the wording, it changed out of fear that people might assume a defective meaning in it. Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the husband, I offer him advice and say to him: Fear Allah regarding yourself, and fear Allah regarding your family. Know that you are responsible for this. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًاSecond: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
and a man is a guardian of his family and is responsible for his charges
الرجل راع في أهله ومسئول عن رعيتهUndoubtedly, if what she mentioned is true, then she is in the right and the man is not in the right. In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
No servant whom Allah appoints as a shepherd over a flock—or he said: whom Allah appoints as a shepherd over a flock—dies while he is a deceiver to his flock, but Allah bars him from Paradise
ما من عبد يسترعيه الله على رعية - أو قال : استرعاه الله على رعية - يموت يوم يموت وهو غاش لرعيته إلا حرم الله عليه الجنةThe student: A deceiver.
The Shaykh : Good. If he dies, he falls under the hadith. If he dies, he falls under the hadith. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was categorical and generalized:
There is none amongst the bondsmen who was entrusted with the affairs of his subjects and he died in such a state that he was dishonest in his dealings with those over whom he ruled except that Paradise is forbidden for him.
ما من عبد استرعاه الله على رعية يموت يوم يموت وهو غاش لرعيته إلا حرم الله عليه الجنةBut we must know that we say this in a general sense, not in a specific sense, meaning: we do not testify that this specific man who brought the dish and enabled his family to access what is in it is himself barred from Paradise, because we do not know; perhaps he will repent. Perhaps he has great good deeds that will erase these sins. Perhaps Allah will forgive him. But in a general sense, there is no problem in our being categorical about what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said. And we must be categorical about what the Messenger said. But there is a difference between specifying and generalizing, between generalizing and specifying. Therefore, if a person has a neighbor who died while bringing this wicked machine to his family, it is not permissible for us to say to his family, "Your companion is barred by Allah from Paradise." Why? Because we do not specify. We do not specify for anyone, whether punishment or bliss, except what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) specified. Just as if we saw a person who is brave, courageous, and bold, fighting the enemies, and then he was killed in the front line, would we say he is a martyr? We do not say so? We do not say he is a martyr, even though the appearance of his action is that he is a martyr. But we do not say he is a martyr, because we do not know. The criterion is what is in the heart. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
No one is wounded in God's path, and God knows best those who are wounded in His path, without coming on the day of resurrection with his wound spouting blood, the colour being that of blood but the fragrance that of musk.
ما من مكلوم يكلم في سبيل الله والله أعلم بمن يكلم في سبيله إلا جاء يوم القيامة وجرحه يثعب دما اللون لون الدم والريح ريح المسكThe questioner : Does that mean the fatwa has changed, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : No, it has not changed in terms of the ruling. But in terms of the wording, it changed out of fear that people might assume a defective meaning in it. Yes.