What is the ruling on television, and is its ruling the same as the ruling on satellite dishes?

The questioner : And the first questioner asks: What about the telephone and the television image, which is considered a precursor to the satellite dish?

The Shaykh : No, he is asking whether television is like the satellite dish. I say, may Allah protect us, it is not like the satellite dish, because the satellite dish comes from many channels, from the Jews, from the Christians, and from those whose morals have completely dissolved. It comes from people who are our enemies in our religion and our morals. It comes from people who are tyrannical over our lands, especially this one, because we say, and we are before the House of Allah the Exalted, we do not know of any state or government that implements the Shari'ah of Allah as this state does. We say this while we know and believe that we do not utter a word except that we have a strict watcher over us. But we do not say that we are free from every defect. We have defects, we have shortcomings, we have flaws. But as you are, so will you be ruled. People now want their rulers to be like 'Umar ibn al-Khattab or like Abu Bakr. We say there is no harm; be like the men of the time of 'Umar and Abu Bakr, and you will have such rulers. As you are, so will you be ruled. Allah the Exalted said: Go on, complete the verse, my brother.
"A man from the Khawarij came to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to him: 'O 'Ali'" — listen, my brother — he said: "O 'Ali," he did not say "O Commander of the Faithful," because the Khawarij do not believe in the authority of 'Ali. "He said: 'O 'Ali, why have the people disagreed with you, but they did not disagree with Abu Bakr and 'Umar?'" Is that an embarrassing question or not? It is embarrassing. Why did the people disagree with you but not with Abu Bakr and 'Umar? But before him was what is said in the grammatical proverbs: "A case, or Abu Hasan for it". Before him was Abu Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said to him: .
Yes. What did he do? He put a stone in his mouth so he could not say anything. He could not. Yes. And some of the caliphs of the Umayyads gathered the great people and the notables after hearing what was being said in the gatherings. He gathered them and spoke to them with what he spoke, and he said to them: . Because Allah says: . And in the athar, and it is not a sound hadith: . This is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but its meaning is correct. So we say that the Saudi television, without doubt, has points of criticism. There are points of criticism against them, and there are evils in it. We do not doubt this, and no one watches it except that he sees that. But our position regarding this is two things:
The first thing: that we ask Allah for their guidance and that He make this means a means of good.
The second thing: that we advise them. It is obligatory upon us. We advise them. But if it is obligatory for us to advise them, is it obligatory for them to accept the advice? Answer, my brothers? It is not obligatory. They may accept the advice, and they may not accept it. That is one thing.
Second: If it is obligatory for us to advise them and we have advised them, is it obligatory for us to announce that to the people and say, "We advised them and they did not comply"? Absolutely not. It is not obligatory for us. It is not obligatory for us. These matters, I mean advising the rulers, are more likely to succeed through secrecy than through what? Publicity. Publicity, in fact, attempting to change it through publicity may lead to its intensification and increase. But . And on this occasion, I say: It is obligatory upon us, if we see something displayed on the television of the Kingdom or elsewhere that is not pleasing, to turn it off. We turn off the television, because this is by our choice. And it is obligatory upon us to ask Allah for our rulers to guide them to the straight path. If they return to Allah the Exalted and adhere to the straight path, the nation will submit to them. And if a person seeks the pleasure of Allah despite the anger of the people, what will happen? Allah will be pleased with him, and the people will be pleased with him.
As for what is displayed on the satellite dish, it is things, may Allah protect us, that are extremely evil. Great things that destroy morals, beliefs, and religions. Someone might say: They do not speak about beliefs, for example, regarding the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, the Asha'irah, and the like. We say: But if morals are corrupted, religions are corrupted. Religions are corrupted because if a person's character is corrupted and he takes this deviant direction, he becomes a beast, completely a beast. He wants nothing but to satisfy his instinct and fill his belly, and he does not care about anything. For this reason, the poet said a true word. It is not the truest word, but it is true. He said:
"Nations are only their morals as long as they remain *** So if their morals are lost, they are lost"
This is a true word, but is it the truest thing? Is it the truest word the poet said? Please.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Hm?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : No, not in everything. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is correct. But he said after that: . This is wrong, because the pleasure of Paradise, may Allah make me and you among those who enjoy it, does not vanish. As for the pleasure of this world, it is true that the pleasures of this world vanish. In any case, the wise person does not bring the television into his house. This wise person who wants salvation and safety. But watching what is displayed on the television is of types. If news is displayed, what is watching it? There is no harm in it. If useful words, sermons, or fatwas or the like are displayed, then there is no harm in it, because it is beneficial. If something forbidden is displayed, it is forbidden, and watching it is not permissible. If something is displayed that has no good and no evil, then watching it is a waste of time. A waste of time.
Be, my brother, among the servants of the Most Merciful. Yes.