How Can One Avoid Social Media and TV Distractions from Worship and Obligations?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
How long must one avoid it if social media or TV distracts from worship and obligations? What if there is a need to use it? Does “guarding the gaze” include sinful text messages or any sinful content?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful
In severe cases like yours, one must avoid it for as long as necessary to regain control and fulfill their duties. The principle in Islamic law is that permissible matters (mubah) become impermissible (haram) if they lead to neglecting obligations (fara’id) or engaging in the prohibited (haram).
Suppose one needs to use social media for work, education, or other legitimate reasons. In that case, they should do so with mindfulness—limiting usage, setting time restrictions, and avoiding content that leads to heedlessness. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“From the excellence of a person’s Islam is to leave that which does not concern him.” [Tirmidhi]
Guarding the Gaze: Beyond Visual Content
Guarding the gaze (ghadd al-basar) extends beyond refraining from looking at impermissible images; it includes avoiding all forms of sinful content—whether visual, textual, or auditory. Sinful messages, inappropriate conversations, and any form of content that leads to temptation or corruption of the heart must be avoided. Allah (Most High) commands:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do.” [Quran, 24:30]
Scholars explain that guarding the gaze includes protecting one’s heart and mind from exposure to anything that leads to sin, whether through direct vision, reading inappropriate messages, or listening to corrupting influences.
Thus, one should strive to use social media and other forms of media with awareness, purpose, and accountability before Allah (Most High). If such platforms become a means of heedlessness, sin, or distraction from religious obligations, they must be minimized or completely avoided.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
