A Textbook Praising Sermons, Newspapers and “Moral” Films

Question

Question: In the textbook included in the new curriculum of Dar al-Ulum madrasa it is written that sermons, good speeches, newspapers and “moral” films make a good citizen. Is it correct to write such a thing? Is it permissible to study this subject or not? If it is declared permissible, then it is deemed appropriate, and the students study it, and the students’ mentality becomes corrupted by it.

Answer

The mere presence of worldly benefit in a thing is not a proof of its being permissible — thus the Noble Qur’an itself has acknowledged that there is benefit in wine (khamr), yet it remains unlawful (haram). If some fool, having read in the Noble Qur’an about its benefit, begins to use it, that is his own mistake.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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