"My Friends Spend Hours Watching Movies"
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. May Allah bless you with goodness, dear guests.
Introduction: A Message from a Young Man About Wasting Time
Today, I received a message from one of the youth, which said: "Can you talk in a video to the youth about wasting time on foreign films and series for hours and not playing PUBG? Most of my friends consider films a fixed part of their day, which they boast about with the number of films and series they watch. One of my classmates said in the last week that he finished a series of three hundred episodes. The second one does not leave the house unless he is loaded with a few films to entertain himself with during transportation before reaching the university. The biggest problem is the one who carries and distributes them, and he is happy that he has brought new films and series. When one sees these scenes, his heart aches by Allah. Even by chance, the last friend, who is somewhat committed, was sitting next to me listening to a film during transportation, and I happened to see that the film was turned to a pornographic scene, by the will of Allah." The brother's message ended.
Well, I know that a number of youth to whom these descriptions apply listen to me, so I would like to address them with a message indeed.
The Danger of Wasting Time
The Day of Regret
Look, young people, I will start with words that are dear to you, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who said in the authentic hadith: "People will sit in a gathering and will not remember Allah therein nor invoke blessings on the Prophet (peace be upon him), except that they will have regret on the Day of Judgment, even if they enter Paradise for the reward."
Imagine we can sit and talk for a quarter of an hour, half an hour in permissible speech, types of cars, high prices, anything, but in our hearts, we have been heedless of remembering Allah the Almighty and praying on His Messenger (peace be upon him) in this session. On the Day of Judgment, when the records of deeds are presented and we see the difference in the ranks of people and see that: {So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, * And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it} [At-Tawbah: 7-8], at that moment, you will regret this quarter of an hour in which you did not remember Allah and pray on His Messenger, even though you did not commit any evil therein.
Therefore, our Master the Prophet (peace be upon him), out of compassion for us, has set for us to say at the end of our gatherings: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You," so that our gatherings are not devoid of the remembrance of Allah. Imagine when hours pass not in something permissible other than the remembrance of Allah, but in something forbidden, watching series filled with what angers Allah the Almighty. Are you not afraid for yourself of regret and remorse on the Day when Allah said: {And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be decided, and they are in heedlessness and they do not believe. * Indeed, it is We who give life to the earth and to ourselves, and to Us they will be returned} [Maryam: 39-40]. Look at the name: {Day of Regret}.
The Day of Mutual Loss
Also, one of the names of the Day of Judgment is the Day of Mutual Loss. {The Day He will gather you for the Day of Gathering; that is the Day of Mutual Loss.} [At-Taghabun: 9]. And there is an entire surah with this name. What does mutual loss mean? It means it will be shown to people that they have been deceived. The deceived one, brothers, is the one who pays a lot and gets little. For example, you paid ten thousand for a car worth five thousand, we say you have been deceived in this car.
Similarly, on the Day of Judgment, you will see that you have paid your life, which could have bought you a high rank in Paradise, but you did not get Paradise at all, or you got a lower rank therein. And in the authentic hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) says: "In Paradise, there are a hundred degrees, the distance between each two degrees is like the distance between the heaven and the earth, and the highest of them is the degree of the Paradise, and from it, the four rivers of Paradise gush forth, and above it is the Throne. So if you ask Allah, ask Him for the Paradise."
I know that one of the callers to Islam delayed his guidance until the late twenties of his age, and he is a doctor in biochemistry. Sheikh Muqbil Al-Wadi'i, one of the scholars of hadith, came to Egypt, and this doctor of ours began to accompany the Sheikh Muqbil in the mosques to listen to his lessons. After one of the lessons, he asked the Sheikh Muqbil: "Your Eminence, what is the ruling on watching football matches?" The Sheikh said: "Al-Bukhari narrated..." Our doctor says: "I said to myself: Oh Allah, did Al-Bukhari narrate a hadith even about watching football?" The Sheikh continued: "Al-Bukhari narrated from Abdullah ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'Two blessings in which many people are deceived: health and free time.'"
When I heard this, I prostrated on my knees, crying. Your health, your free time, you pay them for something, so you are deceived.
The Value of Two Light Rak'ahs
In the hadith authenticated by Al-Albani through its various routes, our Prophet (peace be upon him) said about a man in his grave: "Two light rak'ahs from what you consider trivial and neglect will increase this in his deeds, which is more beloved to him than the rest of your world." That is, when one of us dies, the truths are revealed to him, so if he were returned to life again and told: "Well, what do you think, will you pray two rak'ahs?" Two light rak'ahs from what you consider trivial and neglect, meaning you may have entered the mosque and looked at the clock after three minutes the prayer will be established, should I pray the greeting of the mosque or not? Just let me pray two light rak'ahs, not necessarily out of need, and you will receive the reward for these two rak'ahs. If you were given the opportunity to live after death and were offered a choice between these two rak'ahs or living in this world for its length and width to enjoy it, you would certainly choose the two rak'ahs. Why? Because after death, you will see that the world is perishable, its pleasures are fleeting, while the two rak'ahs will benefit you on a day when neither wealth nor children will avail, except for those who come to Allah with a sound heart.
The two rak'ahs will make it easy for you to stand on the Day of Judgment, which is fifty thousand years in measure, as in Sahih Muslim. The two rak'ahs may weigh down your scale so that you enter Paradise, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, as in Al-Bukhari: "The space covered by the bow, the bow of archery, or the whip with which the horses are beaten, is better than the world and all that is in it." That is, the space covered by the bow or the whip in Paradise is better than the world and all that is in it. Yes, because the world is perishable, and this small amount in Paradise is eternal.
Doubts and Their Dangers
Well, look at me for a moment. No, not all of you, you and you and you, I read in your eyes that you say to yourself: "After all, I am not sure that these verses and hadiths are authentic. I heard a word from the YouTubers with the letters sin, sad, and 'ayn, and they say logical things. What tells me that he is indeed the Messenger of Allah? What tells me that the hadiths have been preserved? What tells me that the Quran is from Allah? Could it be that the words of these YouTubers are correct and Islam is a human invention?" And so on from the doubts.
Yes, look at how you waste your life and then lend your ears to these funded ones from our enemies to divert you from your religion. You did not exert effort nor spend time studying your religion, nor did you learn critical thinking so as not to be deceived, and then you exposed yourself to temptations.
The Scene of the Day of Judgment: Believers and Hypocrites
I remind you of great and frightening verses in Surah Al-Hadid. Allah the Almighty says: {On the Day you see the believing men and believing women, their light running before them and on their right hands, [it will be said to them], "Good tidings for you today: gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally. That is the great attainment."} [Al-Hadid: 12]. Look at this beautiful scene, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and with him the believers will enter Paradise.
Now, there is a group of people who are deceived. On that day, the hypocrites, the verse that follows says: {On the Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to the believers, "Wait for us that we may take from your light," it will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light."} [Al-Hadid: 13]. No, no, not at all. Everyone takes their light from their deeds. We took our light from attending the mosques in the darkness, from reciting the Quran and learning our religion, and from averting our eyes and ears from what angers our Lord. Everyone takes their own light. {It will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light." And a wall will be placed between them with a gate; within it is mercy, and outside it is punishment.} [Al-Hadid: 13].
By Allah, my people, a terrifying and frightening moment that turns hair white. {And a wall will be placed between them with a gate; within it is mercy, and outside it is punishment.} On the side of the believers, there is light and good tidings, and on the side of those who call out to them, the believers call out to those behind the wall, "Were we not with you?" [Al-Hadid: 14]. They call out to them, "Were we not with you?" They say, "Yes." [Al-Hadid: 14]. Ah, you were with us in the world when things were not clear and the truths were hidden from you. {They will say, "Yes, but you tempted yourselves, and you hesitated and doubted, and your desires deluded you until the command of Allah came, and your delusions deluded you concerning Allah."} [Al-Hadid: 14]. The devil.
Causes of Hypocrisy and Disappointment
Count with me: {You tempted yourselves} meaning you exposed yourselves to temptation. You looked at what is forbidden and listened to what is forbidden, and you know the saying of Allah the Almighty: {Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart - all of these you will be questioned about.} [Al-Isra: 36]. You stained the mirror of your heart, which Allah created pure, so you began to see truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, and hypocrisy entered the heart.
Look at the verse: {And you hesitated} you doubted in the religion. {And your desires deluded you} you followed your own whims, and you wished upon Allah your desires. "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful," you say. "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful," as Allah the Almighty says: {Then there came after them successors who inherited the Scripture, taking the commodities of this lower life and saying, "We are forgiven."} [Al-A'raf: 169]. Know that Allah is severe in punishment and that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. When your heart hardens and you begin to find it burdensome to read the Quran and hate some of its rulings and love sins, remember that you are the one who did that to yourself. {But you tempted yourselves.}
Boasting of Sin
In the great hadith qudsi narrated by Imam Muslim, the Lord of Might, may He be exalted, says: "O My servants, it is only your deeds that I account for you, then I repay you for them. So whoever finds good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds otherwise, let him blame no one but himself."
Returning to the young man's message, he says that some youth boast about the movies they attend. I remind those who do this with the hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari, in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "All of my nation is excused except the open sinners." Those who openly commit sin. And part of the open sin is what the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "And part of the open sin is that a man does something at night, then he wakes up and Allah has concealed it for him, so he says, 'O so-and-so, I did such and such last night.' And he sleeps while his Lord has concealed him, and he wakes up and reveals what Allah has concealed about him." This is the word of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Allah conceals you, and you look at what is forbidden, and you go and tell people: "I saw this movie and I saw this actress and I saw this beauty and I saw this ugliness." Someone might say, "Why, what have I done to cover myself? What did I do when I watch these movies?" Yes, indeed, if you no longer see following movies and watching indecencies as something reprehensible that you are ashamed of, this is a sign of the death of the heart. If you are no longer ashamed of it, know that faith is being lifted from you.
Modesty and Faith
Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Modesty and faith are two companions." Meaning they are always together. "Modesty and faith are two companions. If one is removed, the other is removed." There is no modesty, there is no faith. You argue that it is something reprehensible and a great sin.
Imagine if the Prophet, peace be upon him, was sitting next to you and you were holding the mobile phone watching this movie, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, looked at these movies. By Allah, would you say that there is nothing wrong with them at all? Are things completely normal? Would you argue with the Prophet, peace be upon him, that this speech is forbidden and reprehensible? I will ask you a question: Are you ready, before you watch these movies and series, to say, "Bismillah"? Do you say, "Bismillah" before you watch them? Oh, what a pity, if we argue about this, this is a sign of the death of the heart. So go and revive your heart.
Utilizing Time During Commute
The brother also mentions in his message that some youth carry movies to watch during their commute, so that they can watch with us, so that they don't waste time on the road. Well, I'll tell you something, my brother, the quarter hour, half hour, and sometimes in Egypt, as mentioned in our young brother's message, commutes can take an hour or two. This time, whether it's a quarter hour, half hour, or an hour, is what builds your character. Thanks to Allah, I have learned a lot of Islamic sciences and much of what benefits me in my religion and worldly life during commutes. And I learned this while driving, listening.
Many people ask me, "Brother, how did you gather Islamic knowledge, knowledge in pharmacy, and prepare for these sessions?" It's not a big deal, not a big issue as they say. I mean, I'm not Superman, folks. It's very simple. Knowledge, unfortunately, as I seek Allah's forgiveness, I'm not saying this out of boasting, but to let you know that I was a bit late. A person realizes that he can't gather everything, there is something called good deeds and varying degrees, and there is something called supporting Islam. Our people used to instill these meanings in us, but unfortunately, it bore fruit in me at a somewhat late stage. But when one is healthy, praise be to Allah, I have become more keen on utilizing my time, not letting a quarter hour or half hour pass without benefiting from it. It's not necessary to only read and pray, no, even when I play with my children, I count the reward for that, when I joke with them, I count the reward for that, but I do not waste my time on what does not please Allah.
This quarter hour and half hour spent during commutes can transform you from a person with no interests, not belonging to the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, to a person upon whom Allah's words are fulfilled: {O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah} [Al-Saff: 14]. It's as if you are saying, "Yes, my Lord, here I am, I am one of Your supporters."
The Responsibility of Guiding to Good or Evil
The brother who sent the message says that there are some youth who share the latest movies with their friends. My dear friend, are you ensuring that this is an ongoing charity for you after your death? I remind you of the Prophet's, peace be upon him, saying: "Whoever calls to guidance will have the reward of those who follow him, without diminishing their reward in any way. And whoever calls to misguidance will bear the sin of those who follow him, without diminishing their sin in any way."
By Allah, I ask you, are you prepared to meet Allah with mountains of evil deeds from those you guided to evil? People: {So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it} [At-Tazaliyat: 8]. An atom, an atom! What about when a person looks at and listens to the forbidden and abominations that harden the heart, make disbelief, debauchery, and disobedience appealing to you, and make you dislike obeying the Most Merciful. By Allah, my brothers, I am keen not to enter Paradise without you. Everyone who listens to me, by Allah, I love Paradise for you as I love it for myself, in compliance with our Prophet's, peace be upon him, saying: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
By Allah, I do not want you to regret as I regretted my past, which I wasted. Praise be to Allah, we did not watch movies or series, things relatively innocent like cartoon series, although even these are poisoned messages, but praise be to Allah, I did not waste time on series and movies except for a limited period, but I regretted it. I want you not to regret as I regretted, and I want for you as I want for myself.
A Call to Repentance and a Covenant with Allah
I ask you by Allah, do not waste your lives, do not waste your time, and work for the day you return to Allah, then every soul will be recompensed for what it earned, and they will not be wronged. And keep a ring in your memory, engrave it in your hearts, the Prophet's, peace be upon him, saying: "People did not sit in a place and remember Allah therein and send prayers upon the Prophet, peace be upon him, except that it became a regret on the Day of Judgment, even if they entered Paradise for the reward."
I have a final request for the youth who listen to me and have fallen into wasting time, watching movies, and guiding others to the latest movies, boasting about attending some movies, and discussing events of movies filled with abominations. I ask them: whoever is affected by this speech and intends to covenant with Allah not to return to this evil, let him comment and say, "I covenant with Allah not to return to that." No one says, "I covenant with Allah not to waste my time." No, it will happen, it will happen, but folks, be precise and approach. For example, sometimes you might sleep more, go out with friends for something neither in religion nor in worldly life but not forbidden. So do not covenant with Allah about something you may not be able to fulfill. But this you cannot, Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity: {Allah does not charge a soul except according to its capacity} [Al-Baqarah: 286]. {So fear Allah as much as you are able} [At-Taghabun: 16].
So we ask you, dear brothers and sisters, whoever is affected by this speech and wants to covenant with Allah not to return to watching and spreading abominations, to write that in the comments. So that I personally can charge you with more of your calling and love for the commands of your Lord, and so that you can also motivate others. Do not thank me, all thanks are due to Allah, but I only want to see that this speech is heard by aware ears, and I am confident in that by Allah's permission.
O Allah, the Most Merciful, Lord of the Worlds, guide the youth of the Muslims and gather us all, those who listen to this speech, under Your Throne on a day when there is no shade except Yours, and do not let us regret on the Day of Sorrow, O Lord of the Worlds, and do not let us be losers in our health, our youth, or our time. You are the Most Merciful, the Generous, the Great. And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.