Watching a Video With Nudity

September 4, 2010

1.1K

Question

I was in a lesson and we were watching a video which had nudity and sex e.t.c, so i put my head down and didn’t watch the video. As far as i know in islam it is forbiden. Is that true? The video wasn’t important.

After the lesson I was told to stay behind and the tutor had a word with me, and I told him the reason, he said it was rubish, and that if it is true he wants evidence.

Answered by: Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

Assalamu alaykum

In the name of Allah the Inspirer of truth

The issue of nudity and watching someone else have sex is very clear in Islam. It is without doubt prohibited. The Prophet sallallahu alalyhi wasallam said:

A man should not look at the concealed parts of another man, and a women should not look at the concealed parts of another women (Tirmidhi from Abu Sa’id radhiyallahu anhu).

The commentators have mentioned that the reason for mentioning the hadith in these words is to repel the notion that a man is allowed to look at another man’s body or a women at another women’s body. Since, this is impermissible it would be a fortiori unlawful to look at the concealed parts of someone of the opposite sex.

In another hadith it is reported that the Prophet sallallahu alalyhi wasallam passed by Jarhad al-Aslami in the masjid. His thigh had become exposed. The Prophet sallallahu alalyhi wasallam said, “The thigh is an area that needs to be concealed” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

Also, it has been related that the Prophet sallallahu alalyhi wasallam did not look at the private parts of his wife, even when copulating. Although this is a permissible action, however, this was the sense of modesty he possessed. What can therefore be said about watching others having intercourse which is meant to be a private act only between the husband and wife.

A’isha radhiyallahu anha reports that the Prophet sallallahu alalyhi wasallam said, “Any women who sheds her garments outside her husbands room (i.e. in front of anyone other than him), she has torn apart the veil between her and her Lord (i.e. she has destroyed the veil of taqwa bestowed upon her by Allah) (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

It is an act of great shamelessness and immodesty to watch sexual acts on TV (or otherwise) and even to allow children to watch such programs as part of the so called “sex education.” It only serves to demoralize. May Allah protect.

Wassalam

Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf

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Dr. Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf

Dr. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorised the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialised licence to issue fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from the University of Johannesburg and completed his MA and PhD in Islamic Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He holds an honorary fellowship at The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman has the unique experience of serving as an imam in Muslim communities on both sides of the Atlantic, eight years in Southern California and over five in the great city of London—and his continued work as an international speaker and lecturer enables him to address and offer pertinent advice on current challenges that face Muslims in the West. He is the founder of Whitethread Institute, a post-graduate insititute for Islamic scholars. He is an avid traveller and continues to teach hadith and work on scholarly publications through White Thread Press (www.whitethreadpress.com). Many of his lectures are available on www.zamzamacademy.com and his courses through Rayyan Institute (www.rayyaninstitute.com).