Watching Too Much TV

TV’S HARMFUL EFFECTS

Today the subject of my sermon shall be on the harmful effects of television. TV in itself is a favour for us from Allah (swt). You shall notice that in all good favours that Allah gives man, little by little Satan makes his way in them, leaving his mark, thus spoiling the favours which Allah have enabled us to have, especially in this past era and the actual era in which we are living with the introduction of television. There are programmes on TV which are essential for viewers, to learn from the given information, such as documentaries, news, educative programmes and others.

Now attraction to all the good effects of TV has disappeared, especially among the youths. Are you people now pondering over the arrays of TV Channels which are available today? I recall the past when there was only one television channel in Mauritius and there were interesting programmes, educative ones (such as documentaries etc.) which started around 3.00 pm and ended at 10.00 pm. Even the radio ended early just like for television. It was years later that a second channel was introduced and today there are a whole lot of TV channels besides the basic national TV channels. Now there are TV stations such as CANAL + proposing new programmes and channels and there is also the MY.T which proposes different new channels. Recently MY.T through publicity done have given viewers 3 months (till October 2015) free viewing of all its channels (more than 73 channels), with the hope that this attracts more and more people to subscribe to these usually paid channels. From what I have learnt, all kinds of Hindi and other serials are being broadcast, one after the other.

Now, what one sees is that all people are before the television, morning and evening. And there is even the option now to get to view the missed programmes and films of the past days.

So the believers need to ponder a lot over the harmful effects of television. Nowadays, a TV in a house has become for the people like a dangerous enemy. It has become such an enemy which is destroying your Iman (faith), time and money when you go to have paid subscriptions to get to view such channels which are dirty. At the same time, you are inviting your wives and children to partake of the harmful effects of these immoral movies and as a result, they also get to be negatively affected by these. 


When your wives and children get to be in contact with such immoral films and programmes, they derive wrong vibes from them and finally your honour gets to be tarnished by those movies which have overtaken your whole family (yourselves included). Remember that when you hold to evil, this means that you have let go of what is good. Nowadays lots of Muslims disregard prayer time, Holy Quran recitation and Zikr (remembrance of God). Moreover, their good manners are fading away to give place to imitating what they see in movies.

Therefore, each head of the family must be conscious of the direction which this world is taking. With the harmful effects of television, people are now getting evil ideas how to harm their neighbour/ fellow citizen, how to commit crimes, how to rob people, and drug them. They also learn how to become smokers (which what style to do it!), alcoholics and how to hold fast to games of chance. 

Despite the dangers which this apparatus represents for you and your family, you are still tolerating it in your house with a semblance of courage. Bear in mind, if you are tolerating it in your house, then you need to extract only what is good from it and not let it drag you and your family towards immorality. You must not let it drift you away from the path which Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) have paved for you in this world. 

A true Muslim believer is supposed to be intelligent enough to distinguish between what shall bring in goodness for him and what shall harm him. A Muslim is not one who follows such trends which represent for himself destruction in this world and the hereafter. Unfortunately it is not so these days. 

The Kuffar (infidels) have disgust for Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) and they have declared war against Islam. And it is in this respect that Allah (swt) also has ordained the Muslims to develop distaste for the Kuffar. As for television, it kills the distaste which you should have for the enemies of Islam, and it even makes you and your wives and children loves these kinds of people. It enables you to get a favourite actor/ actress, be him/ her Hindu, Christian, Jew etc. And it is a fact also that you put up their photos in your rooms, photos of such idols who can even be atheists also, etc. All these Kuffar are not just conceptually immoral, but their lives also are not moral. They are living their lives in ways that are condemned by Allah (swt). If I were to describe it all in this sermon, then the list will go on, exceeding the time limit of this sermon!

Therefore, it is your duty to realise that watching those actors acting in such ways can affect adversely your lives also. Consequently, this makes you develop distaste and hatred towards your own Muslim brother, and you can even come to treat him as a Kafir and not greet him Salam, and refuse him a glass of water whereas that brother may be truly a good Muslim who is more attached to the commandments of Allah and the teachings of our beloved prophet (than you can ever be). For this kind of brother, you consider him to be your enemy whereas for the real enemy who desires the destruction of Islam and is doing caricatures on our beloved prophet (pbuh), you take pleasure in admiring him in his dancing, and singing on TV etc. and you even want to imitate him, to act like him!

Ponder over the question to evaluate the harmful effects of TV on the Muslim girls also. When they develop the taste to watch such and such European or Hindi films, and the male actors therein, as a result this affects their minds in such a way that they see it as acceptable to elope with Hindu boys to marry them by circumambulating fire or to marry Europeans in Churches and thus renouncing completely their own religion, Islam. 

Moreover, when your child plays with other children, he will say: “I am Rambo” or “I am Spiderman” or any other actor. The child knows the life of his favourite actor by heart. Why does this happen? All this is because of the effects which TV has on him/ her. His/ her time is wasted before TV, and watching all kinds of films. In his tender age, he sings the songs of his favourite actor/ singer and he wants to dance like his favourite actor. Sometimes, one can even hear songs wherein the names of Allah and His Messenger (pbuh) are mentioned and even in films the artists mention the attributes of Allah, or the creed (Shahada) of Islam and the Tawheed (Unicity of Allah), and there are lots of so-called Muslims who are attracted to it and take these kinds of songs as great achievements.

If one happens to test the knowledge of that child and ask him questions on the life of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) or the lives of the Khulafa-e-Rashideen (the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs after the Holy Prophet (pbuh)), or those of the Sahaba (companions of the prophet (pbuh)), he will not be able to answer! His heart is so much attached to his favourite actors/ actresses that he even carries their photos in his wallet. It is most unfortunate also that when one asks that kind of child to recite the Salat/ Namaz (prayer) by heart, he does not know any of it. I personally know an eighteen years old youth who, when I asked him to recite the Azan does not know any part of it. The same for Wu’zu (ablutions); but in his room there is big TV screen (Home Cinema) with all sorts of movies of his idol.

Oh Allah, which path have our youths in Islam taken? What works the Mullahs and Mosques officers are doing to bring the youths to the mosques? Instead of fulfilling the correct mission, these Mullahs are fighting among themselves and are seeking grandeur. All Deen works which they supposedly do for Allah are verily done with a money-minded spirit. They take money to make Nikah (wedding) ceremonies or to read (Quran & duahs) in Mayyat (funerals), thus bringing in many innovations in Islam for their personal interest and the majority of Muslims give them unnecessary importance.

Islam is the religion which has been completed/ perfected by Allah (a complete religion), and the Holy Prophet (pbuh) is the perfect role model for us, in each aspect of our lives. He is a role model for our interior as well as our exterior. As for TV, it makes us undermine the way of life (the true model of life) which the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has brought for his Ummah (Community) and it makes us follow the example of the actors and actresses. And it is not an exaggeration to say that TV has made hundreds among us develop distaste for the way of life of our beloved prophet (pbuh).

Look at the fashion sense of our Muslim youths, boys and girls (the way they clothe themselves). Whenever a new look appears on the (Movie/TV) screen, the next day they reproduced it. The latest fashion may be absolutely ridiculous or indecent, yet they continue to follow that trend. Style “Aashiqi”, Dress “Dil to Pagal Hai”, hair turned in all sorts of ridiculous ways, Carabi (beard of hair) reaching to the chin, nails as if claws, and chains in the neck as if Barracuda, hair like Madonna, and head shaved on both sides leaving the hair as if a bowl on the head. They are following and implementing all these (ridiculous) styles and even if they have to spend lots of money on these, they do it (without hesitation) to imitate their idols! This also is Shirk, and if you tell these kinds of youths to spend in the way of Allah from what Allah has given them, they shall promptly say that they are broke and don’t know where to get the money! They refuse to spend in the path of Allah whenever they are called to do (and spend in) the works ordained by Allah for us. How unfortunate for them!

What kind of judgement shall they have before Allah, on the day that they shall have to present themselves before Him? Where is that young Muslim who lets his beard grow in all humility and with Iman (faith), and who is a follower of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)? 

Where is that young girl or woman who is observing the Pardah by covering her body according to the laws of Allah as prescribed in the Holy Quran, and with firm faith, and thus also reserving her beauty only for her husband?

Therefore, Islam is a religion of respect and Allah (swt) has ordained us to cover our body in a respectable manner so that other people respect us. Thus, analyse the harmful effects which TV brings with all its channels and bad movies. Analyse where those negative sides of it all are leading us to; not only us, but our children and wives, leading us far from the teachings of Islam.

I shall continue on the same subject next Friday, Insha-Allah.

---Friday Sermon of 04 December 2015 ~(21 Safar 1437 Hijri) delivered by HADHRAT MUHYI-UD-DIN AL-KHALIFATULLAH Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius.