Ruling on bringing in satellite channels
Question

                I had an argument with my wife about bringing a satellite dish into the house, because she wants to watch these channels but I am worried that they will contain haraam things. What is your opinion?.
Praise be to Allah.
    The one who hears and reads and sees what is presented in 
    these channels, will have no hesitation in regarding it as haraam to bring 
    this equipment into the home, because of the great damage that it does to 
    religious commitment and morals, especially when there are children in the 
    house and there is a lack of spiritual awareness and religious commitment. 

    That can be avoided by bringing in Islamic channels such as 
    al-Majd. As for indecent channels, the situation is obviously clear. 

    Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) warned 
    against bringing this equipment into the home in one of his khutbahs, where 
    he said: 

    We spoke about the [satellite] dish two weeks ago and we 
    explained the danger that it poses to a person during his life and after his 
    death. Many people were surprised that the warning was so stern. But we will 
    pose some questions, by answering which we will reach a conclusion. We 
    should ask about the words of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him): “There is no person whom Allaah appoints in charge of 
    people’s affairs and he dies neglecting them, but Allaah will forbid 
    Paradise to him.” Is this hadeeth saheeh? Yes, it is saheeh and is proven in
    Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Saheeh Muslim and elsewhere. 

    Secondly: 

    Is a man the shepherd of his family or not? The answer is 
    yes, he is the shepherd of his family. The Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) appointed him as such when he said: “The man is the 
    shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock.” This may also be 
    understood from the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families 
    against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones”

    [al-Tahreem 66:6]. 

    The second question is: If a man installs a dish for his 
    family and sees the great evils and things that go against sound morals, is 
    he neglecting them or being sincere towards them? 

    I believe that we would all respond by saying that he is 
    undoubtedly neglecting them, because this is going against the words of 
    Allaah, “ you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against 
    a Fire…”, and because watching the things that we hear of is a cause of 
    moral decline. And if morals decline, religious commitment and belief 
    (‘aqeedah) will decline too. Nations rise and fall according to their degree 
    of morality, and as this is the case, if he dies with this dish in his 
    house, he will be counted as neglecting the flock in charge of whom Allah 
    appointed him by the words of the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him). So there is no way out other than removing 
    this dish from the home altogether. In our previous khutbah we explained 
    that it is not permissible to sell it, because if it is sold it will be used 
    for disobedience towards Allaah, so that will come under the heading of 
    helping others to disobey Allaah. In that case there is no better way to 
    discharge one's duty than breaking it, and Allaah will compensate him for 
    that. Do you not see that the Prophet of Allaah Sulaymaan (peace be upon 
    him) had “ displayed before him, in the afternoon, well trained horses of 
    the highest breed” [Saad 38:36], and they distracted him from 
    remembering Allaah until the sun had set. Then he called for them and began 
    to strike their necks and feet, because they had distracted him from the 
    remembrance of Allaah. So he killed them lest they distract him again, The 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was given a fine, 
    printed garment (khameesah) and he put it on, but whilst he was praying he 
    looked at it once, and when he said the salaam he  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) said: “Take this khameesah of mine and give it to Abu 
    Jahm, and bring me his plain garment.” Abu Jahm was the one who had given it 
    to him, and he did not want to hurt his feelings, so he  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, explaining why he was doing that: “It 
    distracted me from my prayer just now.” This indicates that if a man sees 
    something in his possessions that will distract him from remembrance of 
    Allaah or cause him to disobey Allaah, he should get rid of it altogether.  

    I repeat once again: some people understood from what I said 
    before that if a person dies with a dish in his house, that he will be one 
    of the people of Hell, but this is a misunderstanding, because the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) only said: “Allaah will 
    deprive him of Paradise”. This is a warning which is to be understood in the 
    light of what it says in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, that if a man commits a sin 
    but he has faith in his heart, then he will not abide in Hell forever, 
    because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  

    “Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be set 
    up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to 
    whom He wills”

    [al-Nisa’ 4:48]

    But I was pleased that one of the people who heard my 
    previous khutbah – may Allaah bless him and reward him with good – went and 
    broke the dish that he had and destroyed it completely. He will find the joy 
    of that in his heart, because this is a sign of complete faith. When a woman 
    came to the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wearing 
    two heavy bracelets of gold on her arm, he said: “Do you pay zakaah on 
    these?” She said: No. He said: “Would you like Allaah to give you two 
    bracelets of fire instead of them?” She took them off and gave them to the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: They are 
    for Allaah and His Messenger. When the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) saw a man with a gold ring on his finger, he said: 
    “Would one of you go to a burning ember and put it in his hand – or on his 
    finger?” Then the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    took the ring and threw it aside. Then it was said to the man, after the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had gone away: Take 
    your ring and benefit from it (by selling it). He said: By Allaah, I will 
    not pick up a ring that the Prophet SAW threw away. Think about how the 
    Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) were and how they hastened to 
    give up that which was forbidden by Allaah and His Messenger. Hence they 
    were the most perfect of this ummah in faith, and they were the best of 
    generations, as it was narrated that the Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of people are my generation, then 
    those who come after them, then those who come after them. I say it once 
    again: I fear for the one who brings this equipment that destroys morals and 
    leads people astray. If he is truly wise he will break it so that his home 
    will be free of these haraam things, and so that he will die being sincere 
    towards his family, in sha Allaah. So fear Allaah and fulfil the trust. O 
    Allaah, help us to fulfil the trust and to do that which You love and are 
    pleased with, O Lord of the Worlds. O Allaah,  guide us and guide (our 
    families) for us, and guide by means of us, O Lord of the Worlds. End quote 
    from the shaykh’s website:


    http://ibnothaimeen.com/all/khotab/article_139.shtml

    These words are sufficient, in sha Allaah, to explain the 
    ruling on this dish and its dangers. 

    We ask Allaah to protect the Muslims from fitnah, both 
    apparent and hidden. 

    And Allaah knows best.