Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 111
Social Peace 111 And who shun all that which is vain. 37 Those who are wise, shun the waste of their energies in useless and meaningless pursuits. To find time for light entertainment is neither bad nor prohibited in Islam. But if the entertainment begins to exert a negative influence on society as a whole, it is certainly not recommended. Moreover, if instead of providing a genuine outlet for the stresses of life, entertainment becomes an objective in itself, it would be condemned as laghw (vain and wasteful) in the Quranic terminology. When entertainment begins to interfere in the daily pursuits of life or takes a toll upon one’s time which could be better spent otherwise, it too would be classified as vain according to the Arabic word laghw. Television has done immense good for society. But children sit all day long with their eyes glued to the box. After returning from work, men continue to sit before the screen no matter what the TV programme might be. In doing so, they neglect their responsibilities to their children, wives, friends and society as a whole. TV has indeed become a modern curse. So much time is wasted in this age in watching television that it will be rather difficult and challenging for one to correctly weigh its pros and cons. But that is not all. By screening films on crime, TV often presents the image of crime in a manner, which instead of creating a sense of repulsion in the hearts of children achieves the opposite. Even in programmes exclusive for children, it is not uncommon to find popular characters causing mischief by devising ingenious pranks that play havoc with the peace at home. However amusing and entertaining such programmes may be, they are certainly not educational. No doubt, many a difficult child