Back to search

What is the ruling on browsing news websites that publish forbidden images and scandals? And does the browser bear the sin of their dissemination if he opens pages that contain them, even if he averts his gaze? And what is the ruling if the browser is unaware of the presence of an objectionable matter on the page?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Permission to access websites containing forbidden images and other impermissible content, with the intention of utilizing their permissible aspects while averting one's gaze, does not constitute aiding in the forbidden. This is for the following reasons:

1. The widespread nature of these impermissible elements (عموم البلوى), and when a matter becomes difficult, it expands (الأمر إذا ضاق اتسع). 2. The presence of such impermissible elements is not intended by the visitor to these sites, nor by their creator. And "that which is tolerated as incidental to something is not tolerated as an independent intention" (يغتفر في الشيء ضمنًا ما لا يغتفر فيه قصدًا).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy