Tuesday, December 29, 2015

'The Idiot Box is Truly Harmful'

 TV’S HARMFUL EFFECTS

By the grace of Allah, Allah (swt) in His infinite wisdom and grace has given me again the Tawfiq to continue my sermon today on the subject of: “The Harmful Effects of Television”.

Indeed the time that you lose watching TV is a time which you cannot gain back again, and verily you are in no position to know the exact remaining days which you have before you, before you leave this world. Therefore, maximize what time remains for you in the worship of Allah (Ibaadat), and the seeking of His forgiveness and mercy (Istigfaar). Spend all your time in the path of Allah by doing the works of religion and spend your money also for the propagation of the unity of Allah. Do not spend your money in useless preoccupations wherein there is no divine reward or pleasure.

Islam teaches us that despite all that which we possess (on earth), we verily have no right to use it in the way we want for all these things verily belong to Allah alone: our body, our strength, our time, our money and knowledge, etc. As for TV, it makes us waste our time and money in the disobedience of Allah and it makes us become lazy. With each second that you spend before TV you waste your existence, and verily you shall one day have to account for all that before your Creator. Your TV set plays day and night to such an extent that your electricity bill becomes enormous. It is verily wastage of your money, for apart from (national) television, you get to subscribe to other private channels and you have to pay for all that every month. 

Bear in mind that you have to account for all wealth/ money which Allah has given you before Him one day. Therefore, instead of wasting money, put the money to good use in the treasury of the Jamaat, to spend for the cause of Allah. This shall verily be a blessing for you for Allah shall put His blessings in your money and home and Insha-Allah, you shall have a great reward for it in the hereafter. What you sow in this world, you shall reap it in the hereafter. When you sow good deeds solely for the cause of Allah, therefore you shall reap an infinite reward both in this world and the hereafter. Verily the reward in the hereafter shall be much better and grand. 


Time spent before TV is time wasted. Not only time, but you lose also your money and the love of Allah and your home becomes deprive of blessings. Moreover this ruins your health and your eyes become weaker and weaker. Long TV sessions also make you become very lazy and encourage you to manifest your satanic side and you leave the teachings of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh). Besides, this is a means by which the enemies of Islam also use to destroy the religion which Allah (swt) has perfected.

Each Muslim must know in which unique way Allah (swt) has permitted us to use the oxygen of this world. This is verily to do His Ibaadah (worship). Besides Salat, all deeds done to reap the pleasure of Allah are acts of worship. Therefore, ask yourselves that question: Does watching TV (especially the indecent movies and programmes which are ruining our lives, family lives and environment etc.) form part of the Ibaadat that Allah (swt) has sent us to earth to accomplish?

What shall you, a mere traveller, do when the time shall come for you to leave this temporary world? Shall you then tell Allah (swt): “O Allah, give me more time so that I may become among Your good servants.”

Allah shall tell you: “There is no respite for you; there is no renewing of your visa here. You have been given your number of days to live so that you might become among My good servants, but you lost all these precious time and days before TV with all its harmful effects. You have got only a little good out of TV compared to the great extent of its harm.”

Islam has taught us also to live in peace and when there is peace within us, all people around us shall also get this peace. Islam has not taught us to act violently against our near and dear ones and humanity in general. Islam has also not taught us to rob others of their rights. Islam has not only made us consider each person who reads the Kalima as our brother, but it has also taught us that his life, honour and wealth are sacred just like the Holy Quran is greatly sacred for us (for it is the words of Allah). 

As for TV, it makes you and your children witness brutality and violence every day, and this incite you to act likewise, and thus peace disappears and you no longer feel secure. Therefore, see for yourselves the teachings which TV is showing you and your kids: how to become violent and rob others in a professional way etc.

Islam has taught us not to laugh a lot for too much laughing kills the heart. As for TV, with its comedy programmes (with all its indecent ingredients mixed!) you and your children keep on laughing with all these comedies which are also accompanied by indecency. You admire them, and keep on laughing and this can kill your heart, for then, you no longer feel the greatness of Allah in the heart and you forget that one day (on the Day of Judgement) you shall have to present yourselves before Him. Moreover, this makes you shun all notions of hell and divine punishments as well as good deeds and the reward of paradise. Now, ask yourselves these questions: How much has your heart become hard? And how much has Satan gained authority over your hearts?

Islam has showed us the reality of our lives. Our presence on earth is to live in the worship of Allah for we are His servants and we need to make His laws prevail in each aspect of our lives. Life on earth is short and it ends with an evitable thing which is called death. After death, we shall have to present ourselves before the court of Allah to account for each deed or word we did and pronounced respectively, and afterwards, there are only two destinations for us, either hell or paradise.

As for TV, it not only makes us forget the reality of our existence on earth, but it even gives us a false image of life. Television makes us believe that we are ourselves recipient of powers and authority, such powers and authority to do as per our bidding/ wishes. Thus, the influence of TV makes us do such things as getting jobs without merit or competence required (for those jobs). As long as one is getting a great salary – despite not competent in his job and doing only little work – car, house, leading an extravagant/ luxury life, lose his money in gambling and amusement, he is happy.

Islam has taught us to live life in such a way that there is dialogue between us and especially between us and our family so that each of us may understand one another. Each must command good and forbid evil so that love and affection prevail amidst us. As for TV, it removes that dialogue and mutual advice as well as love and affection also disappear. People are now so concentrated in his favourite programmes that they do not find the time to talk with their peers. Parents do not have time to question their children about their studies in school or Madrassa, or even about their friends and time to come back home etc. The children/ youths also do not find time to seek the advices of their parents and benefit from their experiences. The sitting together in a congregation, as a family to eat has disappeared due to TV. This is fact is another way how love and affection disappears from houses. No one understands the character or problems of the others!

Thus to close this subject (for today for this subject is really vast and cannot be completed in only three sermons), a Muslim is supposed to be an intelligent person; he needs to know how to distinguish between what will benefit him and what will harm him. A Muslim does not follow the trends whereby these can bring about his own destruction, be it in this world and the hereafter. Has the time not come for us to wake up from our long sleep and stop taking life as a plaything?

I pray that these realities penetrate our heart and compel us to react so that we may be able to protect our future and the future of our children, by combatting that big Satan which has invaded our homes. The parents especially need to ponder over this: Do you really want to become a means for the guidance of your children or a means for their deviation? Let’s pray to Allah to safeguard us against all satanic effects. Insha-Allah, Ameen.

----Extracts from the Friday Sermon of 18 December 2015 ~(06 Rabi’ul Awwal 1437 Hijri) delivered by Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.