QUESTION:
Sometimes we come across material on the (worldly) harms of various modern things (TV, smartphones, modern lifestyle, consumerism etc.) presented by non-Muslims in the form of written articles, books, videos, audios etc. While the guidance given to us in Deen is sufficient for us in these matters, there are many people who, due to spiritual weakness, are not willing to give up on harmful (haram) habits solely due to Deeni reasons. Sometimes there is hope that if they are told the worldly harms of such matters as related by “experts”, they may heed the warnings, thereby saving themselves from worldly as well as Deeni harm.
In this regard,
1. Sharing articles and books is generally not a problem, provided there is no haram content. is this acceptable?
2. Sharing videos is generally not permissible. However, it is possible to seperate the audio to another file using special software, without playing the video or watching it. Will it be okay to share such audio files (provided they do not contain music) that have been taken from videos ?
3. Also, is it permissible to share and/or listen to audio files where the speaker is a female ?
ANSWER:
1. Our Mashaa’ikh have mentioned that if a person filled with darkness speaks the Haqq, then darkness will spread. Hence, we should refrain from listening to the clips of the disbelievers and further propagating it, as their speech will have an adverse effect on us. Also, it is possible that they have hidden agendas in their talks, which is to trap the believers. We should therefore be weary and careful of them.
Our responsibility is to convey the message in an easy and simple manner from a Shari’ee perspective. The message of all the Ambiya Alaihimus Salaam was simple and straight forward, ‘O my nation, worship one Allah, there is no diety besides him.” It is then up to them whether they are willing to accept or not. By conveying the message our responsibility and duty has been fulfilled. We should then make Dua to Allah Ta’ala to bless the person with the understanding and guide him.
2. It will be fundamentally permissible to listen to the audio if it is free of music and pictures. However, we have provided our stance on the matter which is recorded above in #1.
3. Listening to a female’s voice can easily lead to Fitnah, particularly in our times when the hearts are spiritually ill, hence we advise that one should refrain from listening and sharing clips of female speakers.
حكم صوت المرأة : وقع الخلاف في صوت المرأة أنه من العورة فلا يجوز أن تتكلم بحيث يسمعها الأجانب أو ليس بعورة فيرخص لها في التكلم والحق الحقيق عند أرباب التحقيق و هو أن صوت المرأة ليس بعورة بنفسه إلا أنه قد يكون سببا للفتنة فكان من القسم الثاني من سد الذرائع. فدار حكمه على الفتنةو عدمها فحيث خيفت الفتنة حرام إبدائه و حيث لا فلا. كيف و قد حرم الله سبحانه و تعالى إظهار صوت الخلخال و أمثاله فقال و لا يضربن بأرجلهن لمظنة الفتنة فكيف يجوز إظهار صوت نفسها مطلقا (احكام القرآن 3/482)
Re: – Fataawa Darul Uloom Zakariyya Pg.228 Vol.7
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Maulana Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: – 27 Safar 1444 / 13 September 2023
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
