Obscene magazines and evil and poisonous newspapers: Indeed, a Muslim home should be free of such evils, and among the evils of our time are obscene magazines and newspapers. You should also not let your children read obscene magazines. Their ultimate aim is to exploit people’s desires selfishly to their own advantages. Their main focus is to deform and distort the woman’s image and render her a cheap commodity. If such immoral magazines seek to increase their sales, they simply depict a woman on the cover. Alas, the poor oppressed woman has been diminished into a mere means of propaganda! Indeed, Islam has honored women, raised their status, and rendered them precious gems and well-preserved pearls.

Such hazardous magazines and newspapers imbue careless people with evil; they might appear favorable to you, but they are extremely poisonous and perilous evils.

TV: Another such evil are romantic serials that lure Muslim youth into committing sins and are means that would eventually lead them to adultery. Dear Muslim, be extremely cautious and watchful against allowing your children to watch such immoral serials as they are an evil that would lure their hearts.

Muslim parents should not allow their children to watch cartoons too much unless they are Islamic cartoons. In fact, many Muslim families are quite lax regarding this issue taking it rather lightly to let their children watch damaging cartoons; they contain what deforms the Islamic beliefs, distorts morals and ruins the values of the heedless children. Dear Muslim, you can see it clearly as you watch any of these cartoons; you would easily notice the blasphemy, the deformation of morals and the distortion of values in most of these cartoons. Unfortunately, parents are rather negligent regarding this issue allowing their children to watch cartoons because they appeal to them and keep them busy so they do not play in the house. In fact, it is better for your child to play in the house than watch what would deform their Islamic beliefs, distort their morals and ruin their values.

Nowadays alternatives are available to replace such evil. One such alternative are Islamic websites that offer material addressing kids, like "Boys & Girls" of Islamweb: kids.islamweb.net/. It is sites that provides safe educational and entertaining material for kids.

Images and statues: Indeed, this is a fundamental and vital issue in Islam; images were the reason behind the first act of Shirk (polytheism) on earth and the first act of committing deviation regarding the Oneness of Allah The Almighty. Therefore, the Prophet warned us about this issue; Muslim narrated, 'We were with Masrooq at the house of Yasaar bin Numayr. Masrooq saw statues on his terrace and said, "I heard 'Abdullaah saying that he heard the Prophet saying: "The people who will receive the severest punishment from Allah will be the image makers (i.e. those who make the like of the creation of Allah)." [Al-Bukhari]

Moreover, Abul-Hayyaaj Al-Asadi, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him, ‘Should I not urge you to do the same as the Prophet urged me? Do not leave a statue without obliterating it or a high grave without leveling it.” [Muslim]

Notice, dear Muslim, that he said, ‘Do not leave an image without obliterating it’, and this can be done by obliterating the faces on the images and not just separating the head from the body as some people think; since were the faces in an image to be obliterated, the people in it would not be identified. Dear Muslim, do not be lax concerning obliterating the images to the best of your abilities. Statues are more likely to tempt people [lure them into Shirk i.e., associating partners with Allah The Almighty] as they [really] resemble living creatures, and so they are forbidden. ‘Ubayd bin ‘Abdullaah reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas and Abu Talhah, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet said: "Angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or an image (of a living creature i.e. a human being or an animal)." [Al-Bukhari]

Alas, people nowadays have a morbid fascination with images, whether on clothes, in cars, on the furniture, and on the walls of their houses and offices and sometimes with the aim of glorifying them. In fact, this is a greater peril since it might eventually lead to Shirk i.e., associating partners with Allah The Almighty. Were you to buy your children clothes, you would notice that most of them have images imprinted on them. Dear Muslim, you should examine the clothes before buying them for there might be forbidden images on them. Indeed, if Muslims boycotted such clothes with images, the merchants would be forced to sell image-free clothes and accordingly clothing factories would have to do the same and make image-free clothes. In fact, those who are quite familiar with this field would know that factories make the products according to the market demand; if the merchants demanded clothes with certain features and qualities, they would make them. Dear Muslim merchants, fear Allah The Almighty and do not commit sins and cause others to commit sins as well and bear in mind that whoever causes Muslims to commit a sin, will be held accountable for his sin and for the sins of those who committed it as well.

Swearing or insulting, cursing, obscene and vulgar language: Indeed, a Muslim home should be deemed far above using such repulsive language. Parents should be cautious about letting their children hear such obscene and vulgar language; innocent as they are, children repeat whatever they hear. Were the child to hear swearing, cursing, and obscene language, he would use that language as well. Whereas if the child hears the Name of Allah The Exalted, Tahleel i.e., ‘La ilaaha illa Allah’ [which means: none is worthy of worship except Allah], Tasbeeh i.e., ‘Subhaana Allah’ [which means: all praise is due to Allah], Takbeer i.e., ‘Allahu Akbar’ [which means: Allah is the Greatest], indeed, the child would grow up repeating them. It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet said: "A believer is not a slanderer nor a curser nor foul mouthed nor obscene." [Ibn Hibbaan] [Saheeh]

Safeguarding the Muslim Home from Evil-I