Does watching religious programs on television count as a gathering for the remembrance of Allah, falling under the Hadith: "No people gather for the remembrance of Allah but the angels surround them and tranquility descends upon them"?
Listening to the Qur'an, lessons, and religious lectures via television is not an assembly in the sense mentioned in the Hadith, so the virtues mentioned therein are not realized. Whoever remembers Allah to himself or in front of the screen while listening to the Qur'an or lectures is upon goodness and will be rewarded, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself; and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I remember him in an assembly better than theirs." Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said that hidden remembrance is better because it is further from showing off, but the correct view is that it varies according to individuals and times.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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