Watching movies, TV shows and playing cards
Q: Some fasting people spend most of their day in Ramadan watching movies and soap operas on video and TV and playing cards. What is the religious ruling on that?
A: Fasting people and other Muslims are obliged to fear Allah The Almighty in what they do and what they abandon at all times. They should beware of watching obscene movies featuring naked and semi-naked images and indecent dialogs that Allah The Almighty has forbidden . The same applies to TV shows which contradict the Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation) of Allah The Almighty, featuring things such as images, songs, musical instruments that call to deviation and misguidance. Besides, every Muslim, whether fasting or not, should beware of indulging in means of amusement such as cards and the like, for this includes watching and committing forbidden acts. This leads to hardness and diseases of the heart, disregard for the Sharee‘ah of Allah The Almighty and laziness in doing what He has ordained, such as the congregational prayer or abandoning other such duties and committing forbidden acts.
Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {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 in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment. And when our verses are recited to him, he turns away arrogantly as if he had not heard them, as if there was in his ears deafness. So give him tidings of a painful punishment} [Quran 31:6-7] Allah The Exalted also Says, describing the slaves of The Most Merciful (what means): {And [they are] those who do not witness falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity} [Quran 25:72]
Falsehood includes all kinds of evil. “Do not witness” means they do not attend such gatherings. The Messenger of Allah said: "From among my Ummah there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments lawful." [Mu‘allaq Hadeeth] [Al-Bukhari] Allah The Almighty prohibited for Muslims all means of committing forbidden acts. There is no doubt that watching immoral movies and TV shows could lead to committing forbidden acts and leniency in not considering them forbidden. We seek the help of Allah The Almighty.
[Shaykh Ibn Baaz: Majmoo‘ Al-Fataawa]
Sleeping during the day and staying up at night
Q: There are people who stay up till dawn, then they sleep after performing the Fajr prayer till the time of the Thuhr prayer. They wake up to perform it, then they go back to sleep till the ‘Asr prayer and so on till the time of Iftaar (breaking fast). What is the ruling of Islam on this behavior?
A: There is no harm in sleeping during the day or at night as long as this does not entail missing any of the religious duties or committing any forbidden act. The rule for the Muslim whether fasting or not is not to stay up at night and to sleep after performing the Qiyaam (voluntary night prayer) that Allah The Almighty guides him to offer, then to wake up for Suhoor (pre-dawn meal) if in Ramadan, because Suhoor is a confirmed Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet said: "Take Suhoor as there is a blessing in it." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] and: "The difference between our fasting and that of the People of the Book is eating shortly before dawn." [Muslim]
The Muslim, whether fasting or not, should be keen on performing the five prayers in congregation and beware of engaging in any other action at their appointed time, such as sleeping or any other action. Moreover, the Muslim, whether fasting or not, should perform all the obligatory acts and duties on time and should not waste time, whether in sleeping or anything else. Moreover, he should endeavor to seek lawful sustenance for himself and his dependants and not waste time sleeping etc.
To conclude, my advice to all men and women, whether fasting or not, is to fear Allah The Almighty in all conditions, to be keen on performing all the obligatory duties on time according to the way ordained by Allah The Almighty, to beware of wasting time in sleeping or other permissible or impermissible activities. If wasting time is caused by an act of disobedience, then the sin is greater and the crime is graver.
[Shaykh Ibn Baaz: Majmoo‘ Al Fataawa]