Title of Sermon: Drama and the Venomous Scorpion
Elements of Sermon:
1. What does Allah want for us?
2. The danger of drama on beliefs, morals, and society.
3. Corrupt drama contradicts Islam.
4. Where is the alternative?
All praise be to Allah who has made the lawful pure and has forbidden the impure. He loves the people of purity and virtue and despises those of indecency and immorality. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah exalt and send peace to him in abundance.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with the true fear of Allah, and be mindful of Him in private and in public. Allah Almighty says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims." [Al-Imran: 102].
O brothers in Islam:
During the season of the greater pilgrimage, while our Prophet ﷺ was performing the rituals, Al-Fadl ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) was riding behind him on the mount. Al-Fadl was a handsome young man, and a young, beautiful woman came to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about a matter related to Hajj. Al-Fadl began to look at her, and her beauty pleased him, and she began to look at him as well. The Prophet ﷺ then turned his face away from her and redirected Al-Fadl's gaze. This is narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) saw what the Prophet ﷺ did and asked, "O Messenger of Allah, why did you turn the neck of your cousin?" The Prophet ﷺ replied, "I saw a young man and a young woman, and I did not feel safe from Satan’s influence on them." This is narrated by At-Tirmidhi.
Servants of Allah:
What does Allah want for us? Allah Almighty says:
مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِنْ يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
"Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful." [Al-Ma'idah: 6].
And He, the Most Glorious, says:
وَاللَّهُ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَيُرِيدُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الشَّهَوَاتِ أَنْ تَمِيلُوا مَيْلًا عَظِيمًا
"And Allah wants to accept your repentance, but those who follow [their] desires want you to deviate [into] a great deviation." [An-Nisa: 27].
Our Praiseworthy Lord wants purity and virtues for us, while those who follow desires want indecencies and vices.
Indeed, the most dangerous defeats are not where heads fall on the battlefield, but rather the defeat in the arenas of religion, intellect, and morals—those that occur without any killing, where the mind is deceived, the brain is washed, the religion is distorted, the natural disposition is obliterated, and morals are eradicated.
One of the most dangerous of these tools is what is known as "soft power," a force that conquers souls, takes control of hearts, and captivates minds until it dominates societies and nations. Among the most perilous forms of this soft power is drama—whether through films, television series, or plays.
A writer crafts a story with thrilling events, characters, and dialogues, then presents it in a performative format, making it seem like a visual reality. It becomes a tool that directs the collective mind of nations, either building or distorting the identity of a people, leading the masses wherever it desires without thought or reflection.
Thousands of films, series, and plays—foreign, dubbed, and Arabic—along with round-the-clock satellite channels, have invaded every home. Online platforms offer thousands of films and series at the click of a button, in an overwhelming and relentless stream.
This has a profound, almost magical impact on emotions and sentiments, shaping attitudes towards a character, idea, value, or moral, either positively or negatively.
What has drama done to the lives of Muslims? In general, it is truly a poisonous scorpion that has sneaked into our homes, corrupting our men, women, and children, ruining both religion and worldly life. I do not exaggerate or overstate; those who reflect will recognize, and those who are truthful will admit it.
This Western drama, which fully transmits the culture of Western society, brings with it atheism, irreligion, paganism, the glorification of the cross, sorcery, witchcraft, moral decay, deviance, and immorality, along with alcohol, drugs, and crime.
It presents all this falsehood in an appealing and acceptable manner, but when it portrays Muslims and Arabs, it shows them in the worst possible light—as ignorant and coarse, concerned only with their appetites and desires, or as bloodthirsty beasts without mercy. This false stereotype has become entrenched among many in the West.
As for the drama producers in Muslim lands, they are no less dangerous than their Western counterparts; in fact, they are even more cunning. Rarely do their works lack nudity, obscenity, and the stirring of base desires, depicted in a repulsive manner that does not reflect a pure and Muslim society.
They glorify forbidden relationships between men and women, presenting illicit love and romantic encounters in a dreamy romantic style, even sanctifying it under the slogan "Love conquers all." They also offer a full, decorated plan to confront society and family with defiance or elopement, which often ends either in outright fornication or covert fornication under the guise of an "unofficial marriage" without a guardian, witnesses, or documentation. This is one of the greatest doors to the spread of vice and corruption.
Many people have become attached to the heroes portrayed in drama and cinema, to the point where many have named their children after them. Countless young men have become infatuated with corrupt actresses, who are glamorized with the makeup of deception. Likewise, many young women have become enamored with the charming yet immoral characters, leading to the ruin of homes and the corruption of societies.
This is not to mention the sympathy shown towards criminals and those who violate sanctities, as these shows often portray the sinful woman as a pitiful figure simply trying to make a living, or the thief as a victim merely trying to feed his children, or the adulteress as a suffering wife deprived of marital warmth. In this way, they justify sinful behavior, allowing immorality to spread among the believers.
Moreover, the spread of foul language, obscene words, and vulgar expressions is rampant in these productions. Many teenagers have been influenced by this, mistakenly believing it to be a mark of false masculinity.
These shows also depict Muslim societies as ignorant and degenerate, dominated by crime, drugs, and immorality. This has become the stereotypical image of Muslim societies, distorting reality and falsifying the truth, as if these societies were devoid of pure and righteous individuals.
Even worse, they present all of this in a comedic and humorous manner, making it more palatable and acceptable to viewers, allowing it to settle in their minds without objection. It becomes ingrained and repeatedly shown in every film or scene, and what is repeated becomes established.
Islamic history has not been spared from their distortion. They have presented some figures or eras in a distorted and false light, depicting them as barbaric, interested only in their desires and wealth. They have exaggerated human errors and falsely attributed them to religion and Arab culture.
In most of their works, they have maligned religious scholars and preachers, portraying them as a group of ignorant opportunists living in an isolated world, or as bloodthirsty individuals who incite violence, terrorism, killing, and destruction.
They have also sought to destroy the family and its cohesion, depicting the husband as a tyrant who enslaves the woman for his service, always portrayed as narcissistic and enjoying stifling his wife's success in asserting her identity. They depict the path to success for the woman as rebelling against her husband, belittling the importance of raising children, and then, after divorce, embracing the freedom of liberation and radical feminism. This is nothing but incitement and destruction.
It doesn't stop there. They have even created productions that depict the Prophets and the Companions, where a well-known sinful actor plays the role of a noble Companion—how vast the difference between them! Moreover, they insert lies and fabrications, with false events and invented statements, leading generations to a distorted understanding of true Islam.
They have belittled role models and noble figures, while elevating trivial and corrupt symbols. The teacher on their screens is a laughingstock ridiculed by students, the father is depicted as old-fashioned, tyrannical, and ignorant, and the scholar as impoverished, destitute, or mentally ill and resentful of society. Yet, in the same shows, the thief and adulterer are portrayed as honorable and brave, living in wealth and admired by people.
All this corruption is presented under flashy names to appeal to the masses—they call it art and creativity, but they lie, for it is nothing but destruction and ruin.
Dear servants of Allah:
After all this corruption, how has this drama spread among Muslims, despite Allah's words:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
"Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know." [Al-Nur: 19]?
How can you, as a Muslim, sit with your family and watch this filth, while Allah says:
قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ * وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
"Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is [fully] aware of what they do. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests..." [Al-Nur: 30-31]?
How can our societies accept that this drama promotes forbidden love and friendships between men and women, when Allah has called us to lawful and pure marriage and forbidden taking lovers and mistresses? Allah says:
فَانْكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ وَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَاتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحَاتٍ وَلَا مُتَّخِذَاتِ أَخْدَانٍ
"Then marry them with the permission of their families and give them their due compensation according to what is acceptable, [they should be] chaste, neither [of those] who commit unlawful sexual intercourse nor those who take [secret] lovers." [Al-Nisa: 25].
How have we allowed these scorpions to sting Muslim families, inciting wives against their husbands and children against their fathers, when the Prophet ﷺ said: "He is not one of us who turns a woman against her husband." [Narrated by Abu Dawood].
Let every Muslim know that whoever participates in the creation of this corrupt drama, or its broadcasting and dissemination, or promotes it in any way, such as by praising it or recommending its viewing, is a partner in the sin, and has no excuse before Allah. Let them be aware of Allah’s warning, where He says:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ
"And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge and who takes it [i.e., His way] in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment." [Luqman: 6].
May Allah bless me and you in the great Qur'an, and benefit us with the verses and wise remembrance within it. I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness; indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions, and those who follow him.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, for His piety is the best of earnings, and obedience to Him is the highest honor.
Brothers in Islam:
Some may ask, "What is the alternative?"
Know, O servant of Allah, that your religion, your creed, your Sharia, your morals, you, your family, and your children, are the greatest possessions you have. If you lose them, what victory, what happiness, or what entertainment will benefit you before Allah tomorrow?
It is not necessary to find an alternative to the forbidden things that have invaded the lands of the Muslims. Indeed, the believer leaves what Allah has forbidden for the sake of Allah, for He has only forbidden what is impure.
Then, I invite you, O zealous Muslim, to flowers without thorns, and pure honey without harm—pure and refined. It is the stories of the Qur'an and the stories of the Prophet ﷺ.
The stories of the Qur'an are the best of stories—life without death, truth without falsehood, light without darkness, purity without filth, and holiness without impurity. So, here are the stories of the prophets and the righteous in the Book of Allah and in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Gather your family and children and read to them the best of stories, for in them are lessons and morals, sufficiency and guidance, and righteousness and insight.
The Qur'an was revealed to the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and they had poetry, legends, and gatherings of amusement, but they turned away from all of that and turned towards the Book of their Lord. Their hearts were purified, their souls were refined, their lives were made wholesome, and they became leaders of the nations around them.
O Allah, keep us and the Muslims away from immoralities in character and deeds, and from evil and indecency. Indeed, You are Generous and Bountiful.
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor to the Muslims, and destroy the Jewish criminals. O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your cause, save Your oppressed servants, and raise the banner of religion by Your strength, O Mighty and Powerful One.
O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and are pleased with, and take him by the forelock towards righteousness and piety.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
