Zakir Naik – Watching Television and its Harmful Effects

Zakir Naik
Share Page

AI: Summary ©

A doctor discusses the harmful effects of television on children and young adults, citing multiple negative consequences such as causing problems for parents, children, and others. The speaker also discusses the health consequences of television, including problems for children and young adults, as well as negative lifestyle consequences such as bribery, violence, drug addiction, and alcoholism. While acknowledging the health consequences of television, the speaker hopes that people should be on the straight path to achieve their goals, even though media may deviate from the Bible.

AI: Summary ©

00:00:01 --> 00:00:03
			Next question, doctor Zakkia,
		
00:00:03 --> 00:00:04
			relates to
		
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07
			the fact that now, of course, Ramadan is
		
00:00:08 --> 00:00:08
			over
		
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11
			and the devils are set free,
		
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13
			many of the youth,
		
00:00:14 --> 00:00:15
			not to mention other people,
		
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19
			adults as well, will revert to their bad
		
00:00:20 --> 00:00:21
			habits of watching
		
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24
			television. Could you shed some light on
		
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27
			the issue of watching television and its harmful
		
00:00:27 --> 00:00:28
			effects?
		
00:00:29 --> 00:00:30
			Television
		
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33
			does multiple times more harm
		
00:00:34 --> 00:00:34
			than good.
		
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38
			It harms a person spiritually,
		
00:00:39 --> 00:00:39
			morally,
		
00:00:40 --> 00:00:41
			socially
		
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43
			and economic wise.
		
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45
			There are various you can give a talk
		
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47
			only on the ill effects of 1 on
		
00:00:47 --> 00:00:47
			television.
		
00:00:48 --> 00:00:49
			Number 1
		
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50
			is that
		
00:00:51 --> 00:00:52
			I call it rather
		
00:00:53 --> 00:00:53
			it's a.
		
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57
			It's the footstep of the devil for many
		
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59
			reasons. Number 1 is
		
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00
			that
		
00:01:02 --> 00:01:03
			it many a time
		
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05
			prevents a person from offering salah. A person
		
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08
			gets addicted to the tea. So Muslims,
		
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10
			though he realizes the time he's okay after
		
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11
			5 minutes after 5 minutes, and he watches
		
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13
			the program, the soap, or the opera, whatever
		
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15
			it is, and he misses salah.
		
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17
			Number 2,
		
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20
			there is too much of obscenity
		
00:01:22 --> 00:01:22
			on the television.
		
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26
			Normal channels that you see, then in which
		
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27
			channels you find so much of obscenity, and
		
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29
			Allah says in the Quran in Surinur chapter
		
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31
			number 24, verse number 30. Say to the
		
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33
			believing man that he should lower his gaze
		
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35
			and guard his modesty. Whenever a man looks
		
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37
			at a woman, if any unashamed thought, any
		
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39
			bathed thought come, then a man should lower
		
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40
			his gaze. The next verse speaks for the
		
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43
			woman, Surinur chapter 24 verse number 31. Say
		
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45
			to the believing woman that she should lower
		
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46
			the gaze and guard her modesty.
		
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48
			That when she looks at any man and
		
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49
			any unashamed thought comes, she should lower the
		
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52
			gaze. So now, how can a Muslim watch
		
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53
			television
		
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55
			on which you find ladies
		
00:01:55 --> 00:01:56
			without hijab,
		
00:01:57 --> 00:01:57
			immodest.
		
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00
			Many of them, the clothes that they wear,
		
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02
			they expose more of the body than cover
		
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03
			the body.
		
00:02:03 --> 00:02:04
			So but natural,
		
00:02:05 --> 00:02:06
			most of the channels
		
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07
			that you see
		
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10
			more than 99% you can safely say,
		
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13
			more than 99% are haram as far aslam
		
00:02:13 --> 00:02:13
			is concerned.
		
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16
			People give excuses, oh, why not news live
		
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18
			in news channels. The ladies that they come,
		
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20
			you know, they dress up, they're not having
		
00:02:20 --> 00:02:20
			hijab, etcetera.
		
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23
			And the obscenity that is there,
		
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26
			it is tremendous. And there are many reports,
		
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28
			which if time permits, I'll tell you later
		
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30
			on. And the second is obscenity on the
		
00:02:30 --> 00:02:30
			television.
		
00:02:31 --> 00:02:31
			Number
		
00:02:32 --> 00:02:33
			3 is the extravagance,
		
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36
			that when we see any channel, the advertisements,
		
00:02:37 --> 00:02:38
			they entice a person to buy things which
		
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40
			are not required. You may see a latest
		
00:02:41 --> 00:02:42
			car that is launched in the market, and
		
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44
			your desire will be there to buy it.
		
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46
			You may want a very big house or
		
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49
			thing which aren't required of, like, extra wagons
		
00:02:49 --> 00:02:50
			as Allah says in the Quran in Surah
		
00:02:50 --> 00:02:51
			Isra,
		
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53
			chapter number 17, verse number 26 and 27.
		
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55
			There do not be extra wagon, do not
		
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57
			be a spendthrift. For verily, the person who's
		
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59
			a spendthrift is the brother of the devil.
		
00:03:00 --> 00:03:01
			The 4th point is
		
00:03:01 --> 00:03:02
			that
		
00:03:03 --> 00:03:04
			it leads
		
00:03:04 --> 00:03:05
			unnecessary.
		
00:03:05 --> 00:03:06
			There's too much of glamour
		
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09
			and fame. The person tries to get involved
		
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11
			in that glamorous world, seeing the
		
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13
			actors and the other people, and the time
		
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15
			imitate them, the time immolate them. They become
		
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18
			the idols and they become the heroes
		
00:03:18 --> 00:03:19
			rather than Muhammad
		
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20
			and the Sabas.
		
00:03:22 --> 00:03:22
			Number
		
00:03:23 --> 00:03:24
			5
		
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27
			is that there's too much of violence on
		
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28
			the television,
		
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30
			and that really
		
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33
			influences the person's lifestyle, and there are several
		
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34
			reports on that too.
		
00:03:35 --> 00:03:35
			Furthermore,
		
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38
			there's too much of drug addiction, there's too
		
00:03:38 --> 00:03:38
			much of fighting,
		
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41
			etcetera, which a person gets involved, you know,
		
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43
			oh, some people know it's nice to have
		
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45
			drugs. When a person, a young person see
		
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47
			that, he tries to at least try it
		
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49
			out. And that's how drug addiction increases, alcoholism
		
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52
			increases, and there are various. Just to culture,
		
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53
			I'll just give you some of the reports.
		
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56
			The special report done only on the effect
		
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57
			of television on children.
		
00:03:58 --> 00:03:59
			And
		
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02
			since 1950, more than a 1000 surveys and
		
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04
			researches were done on the effects of television
		
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06
			on children and young adults.
		
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07
			And according
		
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11
			to a survey which was present in the
		
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14
			senate committee of judiciary in USA in 1999,
		
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16
			it says
		
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19
			that because of young children
		
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21
			and young adults watching television,
		
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24
			it makes their lifestyle violent,
		
00:04:24 --> 00:04:25
			they're aggressive,
		
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27
			and they're unsocial.
		
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30
			According to the report of
		
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31
			Houston,
		
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33
			a service conducted in 1992,
		
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36
			And by the time a child reaches the
		
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38
			age of 10, and if he watches television,
		
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40
			the average hours that a person in the
		
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43
			USA watches, he would have viewed 200,000
		
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45
			violent acts on television
		
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48
			and 40,000 murders. Imagine what impact it will
		
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50
			have on that young mind.
		
00:04:51 --> 00:04:52
			According to report of
		
00:04:53 --> 00:04:53
			the American
		
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55
			Council of Pediatrics
		
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57
			in the year 2,001,
		
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01
			it says that death in children
		
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04
			and young adults and adolescents only due to
		
00:05:04 --> 00:05:04
			violence,
		
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06
			that is homicide,
		
00:05:07 --> 00:05:07
			suicide,
		
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10
			and trauma is much more
		
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12
			than the diseases,
		
00:05:12 --> 00:05:13
			much more than cancer,
		
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15
			much more than congenital
		
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18
			heart disease, the deaths caused by these volumes.
		
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20
			And furthermore, going to research done by the
		
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21
			Kaiser
		
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24
			Foundation in the 2,005,
		
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26
			it said that on an average,
		
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28
			an average American child
		
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31
			watches television every week for 44 and a
		
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34
			half hours. That means every day he watches
		
00:05:34 --> 00:05:34
			television
		
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37
			and sits in front of the computer game
		
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39
			or in front of the computer screen all
		
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41
			put together for about 6 and a half
		
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42
			hours every day.
		
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44
			That is there's no the activity does more
		
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46
			than sitting in front of the television screen
		
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48
			or the computer screen more than sleeping. Sleeping
		
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49
			is the only thing where you may sleep
		
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51
			more. Otherwise, any activity that it does, maximum
		
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53
			is this. And the impact it has on
		
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54
			the lifestyle, on the
		
00:05:55 --> 00:05:55
			behavior
		
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59
			is drastically negative. There were research done on
		
00:05:59 --> 00:05:59
			what effect
		
00:06:00 --> 00:06:00
			does
		
00:06:01 --> 00:06:01
			a video
		
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03
			album has. You know, you have a lot
		
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06
			of video albums coming up and dancing and
		
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08
			singing and music. It takes a person away
		
00:06:08 --> 00:06:09
			from an Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore I
		
00:06:09 --> 00:06:10
			say it's.
		
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12
			There are researches on
		
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15
			the * shown on this television.
		
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16
			It's tremendous.
		
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20
			Maximum number of channels on the satellite
		
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23
			TV. In America, it's * channels.
		
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28
			In UK, it's * channel. The maximum profit
		
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30
			the percentage of profit made by any channels
		
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31
			are the * channels.
		
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33
			And the cheapest to run a channel is
		
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36
			the * channel, and even the entertainment channels
		
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38
			have started getting obscenity on it to attract
		
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39
			the people.
		
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41
			And people get slowly and slowly alluded towards
		
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43
			it. And India, which is the
		
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46
			conservative country, the eastern part of the world,
		
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48
			maybe a few decades back when we
		
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51
			see the way the movies were made in
		
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54
			India, if they're to show a love scene,
		
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55
			they used to show 2 flowers. That's it,
		
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58
			indicating love scene. Later on, we had the
		
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59
			hero heroine,
		
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01
			They're running around the tree to show a
		
00:07:01 --> 00:07:01
			love scene.
		
00:07:02 --> 00:07:02
			Now
		
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06
			you see them openly kissing on the street
		
00:07:06 --> 00:07:06
			in the movies,
		
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09
			Even sleeping in bed,
		
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11
			and it's very normal. So that's how I
		
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13
			know it started
		
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14
			with just showing a symbolic
		
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17
			* of flowers. And then we see today
		
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18
			that open
		
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21
			openly sleeping and showing all the scenes and
		
00:07:21 --> 00:07:25
			all. And it's even getting into the normal
		
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28
			film television channels. Then you have the fashion
		
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30
			TV and all these, you know, therefore,
		
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33
			we are very particular that in our school,
		
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35
			all the children who are studying in our
		
00:07:35 --> 00:07:35
			school,
		
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37
			in their house, in the family, there should
		
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39
			be no cable TV. Even if they want
		
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40
			to see PEACE TV,
		
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42
			if they have a private dish where only
		
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44
			PEACE TV comes, it's permitted. But if they
		
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47
			have the cable TV along with PCH TV,
		
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49
			if another 100 or 80,
		
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51
			Haram Chan has come, we said, don't see
		
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53
			PCH TV. While the Islamic sharia says, let
		
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55
			a small loss take place to prevent a
		
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57
			big loss. So the bigger loss is the
		
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59
			haram channels. The small benefit
		
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01
			is the PEACE TV, but best is to
		
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04
			have only peace TV. Have a decoder, see
		
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05
			the channel, that's fine.
		
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08
			And there are very few channels which Islamic
		
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09
			and getting people
		
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12
			to the straight path. Very few. The percentage
		
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14
			will be less than 1% of the channels.
		
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16
			So we pray to Allah that we have
		
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18
			more channels. And even the Islamic channels should
		
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20
			see to that down the Quran sunnah that's
		
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23
			important. Whether they get deviated with
		
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26
			this media, the film industry, you know, trying
		
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28
			to get more popular, slowly slowly, the time
		
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31
			deviate. So we pray that we be on
		
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31
			the straight path.
		
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34
			So this is just in short the fuel
		
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35
			effects of TV and you can give a
		
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36
			talk on this.