By Soofi Jalaluddeen Siddiqi Kiranwi

Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said: "I am stopping you by holding you at the waist, yet you are overpowering me and by committing sins, you are falling into Jahannum."

Alî Radiyallahu Anhu [ascribing it to be a Hadith of Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam] says: "What will be your condition at that time when your girls will become fornicators and your women will go astray." The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum said: "Will such a thing ever happen?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam replied: "Yes and even worse than that. What will be your condition when you will not command the good nor will you prevent the evil"? The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum said: "Will such a thing ever happen?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said: "Yes and even worse than that. What will be your condition when you will command the evil and prevent from the good". The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum said: "Will such a thing ever happen?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam replied: "Yes and even worse than that. What will be your condition when you will regard the good to be evil and the evil to be good?"

It is unfortunate that the evils from which Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi wasallam has prevented us with much importance and has prophesized different types of punishments on their occurrence, are not only increasing, but rather, even considering them to be evil is coming out of our hearts.

Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said: "There will be the sinking of land, disfiguring of appearances and the raining of stones from the sky on this Ummah." The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum asked: "When will these happen?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam replied: "When singing and musical instruments will become common and liquor will be regarded as Halaal [permissible]."

It comes in one narration that Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said: A group from my Ummah will be disfigured into apes and swines. The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum asked: "Will they be Muslims?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam replied: "Yes, they will bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and I am the Messenger of Allah and they will even fast". The Sahabah Radiyallahu Anhum said: "What will be the reason for this?" Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam replied: "Because they will take to singing-girls, musical-instruments and drums and they will drink these drinks. They will come upon their drinks and amusements and in the morning they will be disfigured. [Musnad ibne Hibân]

In short, those evils upon which very severe punishments were prophesized have become our second nature. Whenever evils in the form of adultery, music, immorality, nudity, etc increasingly occurred, Allah Ta’aala, as a sign of warning, sent down punishment.

The Cinema
To attend the cinema has become a necessity of life. Is it a matter of pride to take one's wife and daughter to the cinema? Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam said: "I have been sent to abolish music. On the other hand, we claim to be Ummatees (followers) of Rasulullah Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, we claim to be Muslims yet we present and see such films. We are proud to consider music to be an art and culture.

Music
The cinema itself was sufficient for the destruction of the world but now the radio has added fuel to fire. It has inflicted the curse of music over every city, town, village, alley and lane, rather over every house. To listen to music has become a day and night occupation. Understand this carefully! Just as it is Haraam to play or listen to music without a radio, similarly it is Haraam to play or listen to music on a radio. Use the radio for a good purpose: – listen to the news, give a message, but do not make your home a dance-hall. If the playing of music on radios (continues) in every home then, very quickly, the world will face destruction and ruin.

Television
In television programmes, strange men and women are seen without any (Hijab) and sometimes even naked. To see a Ghair Mahram [a woman whom a person could marry] is a sin. Hence, a person who sees television perpetrates a sin.

Programmes of amusement and play are shown on television. The television viewer becomes so attached to these programmes that he fails to carry-out necessary worldly and Deeni responsibilities. In this manner the television becomes a means of wasting time.

Dancing and music itself is a sin. To transmit and advertise a sin is also a sin. To see a sin being perpetrated is also a sin. It is reported in the Hadith: The beauty of a person's Islam is his omission of vain things.