Musa Makes Taubah from Movies
Ask our children:
- In Islam, is it permissible to take photos, or to watch TV, movies and clips?
- What is the punishment for those who get involved in picture making?
- What is the bad effect of watching TV, movies and clips?
- Which types of friends should we keep, and how is a person affected by his friends?
Now tell them the story:
Musa stood in the musjid, close to his father. The maghrib salaah was over, and as was their habit every evening, Musa and his father performed six rakaats of awwaabeen salaah. Musa was a hafiz of the Qur’aan Majeed, just like his father, and in his awwaabeen salaah, he would recite some portion of the Qur’aan Majeed.
Musa’s father had taught him the great rewards of performing the six rakaats of awwaabeen salaah – that one will receive the reward of twelve years of ibaadah, and one’s sins will be forgiven. After hearing about these amazing rewards, Musa made sure that he never missed his awwaabeen salaah.
That evening, Musa finished his awwaabeen a little earlier than his father. As he finished, he went closer to his father, until he could hear his father’s beautiful and love-filled recitation. After listening for a few moments, Musa turned and went out of the musjid to wait for his father at the car.
After coming to the car, Musa saw a few boys standing together at another car nearby. They were all huddled together, looking at a cell phone and laughing. Musa watched them curiously, wondering what they were up to. Just then, one of the boys saw Musa watching them and called out, “Musa! Come here! Come and have a look at this! You won’t believe how funny it is! I have never seen anything this funny before!”
At first, Musa did not want to go and look, because he had realized that they must be looking at a clip with people in it. Musa knew that pictures, clips and movies with people, or any living creatures in them, are haraam to make and to look at. But, after a few moments of hesitation, his temptation got the better of him.
Musa looked to the musjid, to make sure that his father was still in salaah and would not catch him, and then he went to the boys and watched the clip with them, having a good laugh.
That night, as Musa went to bed, the clip he had seen continued to play in his mind, over and over. Normally, Musa would read his kalimahs, and then recite durood shareef until he fell asleep. But tonight, his mind was busy replaying the clip he had seen, and so he did not recite any zikr or dua before sleeping.
The next evening, when Musa stood to perform awwaabeen salaah, he didn’t find the peace and enjoyment that he normally felt when standing in salaah and reciting the Qur’aan Majeed. Normally, he would recite one para without any effort or difficulty at all. But today, he couldn’t concentrate, because his mind and heart were somewhere else.
After reading just two rakaats, Musa left the musjid and went outside, joining the boys with phones so that he could watch clips with them. In this way, Musa did not read his six rakaats awwaabeen, but instead spent the time watching haraam clips outside the musjid.
A few minutes later, when Musa’s father came out of the musjid, he asked Musa, “Musa! Did you finish your awwabeen? I saw that you left the musjid very quickly today!” Musa replied, “No papa! I did not finish my awwabeen!”
His father asked him, “Why not? What were you doing outside the musjid?” Musa knew that what he had been doing was wrong and naughty, but Musa always spoke the truth. He did not want to speak a lie to cover up what he had done. He spoke the truth and said, “I’m sorry papa! I was watching movies and clips on the other boys’ phones.”
Musa’s father was most disappointed and said, “Musa! You know that movies, clips and photos of people and all living creatures are haraam! In the Hadith, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said that the people who make pictures will receive the worst and most painful punishment in Jahannum!”
Musa hung his head in shame. He had fallen into this sin and had made a big mistake. He knew that Allah Ta‘ala was displeased with him, and his father was also displeased and disappointed in him.
Musa’s father then said, “Look at how destructive this sin is! Because of this sin, you have been deprived of completing your awwaabeen salaah today! Thank Allah Ta‘ala that He made me catch you so quickly. Imagine if this sin had continued for weeks and weeks! How much more sin you would have committed, and how much more you would have missed out!”
His father then said to him, “Musa! Movies and clips are among the most destructive sins for a person’s deen. People who made taubah from watching movies and clips have mentioned that when watching movies and clips, you will not be committing one sin but many sins. When you watch movies and clips, then you will hear music and will hear people speaking haraam things, like disbelievers praying to their false gods or swearing and using bad language. You will see many haraam things, like non-mahram women, people drinking wine and eating pork, committing murder, praying in a church or temple, or gambling in a casino, or people who are not dressed properly. A Muslim is supposed to hate these evils and sins from his heart, but when he sees these things in movies, then the hatred for these sins leaves his heart. May Allah Ta‘ala save us – but sometimes he may even begin to feel attracted to these sins.”
Finally, Musa’s father said, “Musa! That is why the cell phone is so dangerous. Through the cell phone, people can watch movies and clips at any time and in any place. This has caused them to destroy their deen and imaan, and the worst part is that they even commit this sin right outside the musjid!”
Musa accepted his mistake and admitted that he was guilty. He had made a huge mistake, but was determined to put it right. He made lots of taubah and istighfaar every day and increased the amount of Qur’aan that he was reading. But most importantly, Musa realized that if he was friends with people who had bad habits and committed sins, then he would also fall into bad habits and sins. So, from that day, Musa stayed far away from the boys who had shown him the clips on their phones, and made dua for Allah Ta‘ala to save him from the sin of photos, clips and movies.
Lessons:
- In Islam, it is not permissible to make or look at pictures, clips or movies which have people or living creatures in them. A picture of a tree or a mountain, which is not living, is permissible.
- The Hadith says that the people who make pictures will receive the worst punishment on the Day of Qiyaamah.
- When a person watches movies and clips, then he loses the enjoyment of his ibaadah, and he becomes deprived of carrying out ibaadah. He loses the company of the angels of mercy and protection, and he becomes inclined towards the haraam and sins that he sees in the movies and clips.
- We must only be friends with pious people. If we are friends with people who have bad habits and commit sins, then these sins and bad habits will enter our lives as well.