Assalaamu alaykum. Could you please tell me the ruling on Muslims who have YouTube channels that are open to the public and on which a person can see what they liked and subscribed of what contains inappropriate things. For example, the videos that they liked and the channels that they subscribed to containn music, women not covering, and so on. I am not asking about Islamic channels that are owned by Muslims. I am asking regarding the average Muslim.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is not permissible for a Muslim to set up a channel on YouTube or other sites and then upload videos to it that include what is forbidden to look at or to listen to, such as immodestly-dressed women, obscene scenes, music, and other forbidden matters.

The person who sets up these channels that include those forbidden matters and immorality will bear the sin of every person who disobeys Allaah because of seeing them; that is because the person who guides people to evil is like those who do that evil. The evidence of this is the saying of the Prophet who said, “Whoever calls to misguidance will have the like of the sins of those who followed him upon him without decreasing anything from their sins.” [Muslim]

Allaah says (what means): {That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear.} [Quran 16:25] Allaah also says (what means): {And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allaah; indeed, Allaah is severe in penalty.} [Quran 5:2]

As regards subscribing to channels set up by others and that contain the forbidden matters that you referred to in the question, then this is also not permissible, even though the sin, in this case, is less because the sin is limited to only the subscriber who views those videos, whereas the sin in the first case is greater because it is not limited to the person who set up the channel but rather includes all those who subscribed to it, watched it, and listened to its contents.

Allaah knows best.