The "No TV" Sign!

Assalamu aleikum,

I have created the No TV sign, whose purpose is to motivate us to abandon or avoid TVil:



Although the reasons for avoiding TV nowadays are obvious, here are my own hypotheses (to *ahem* remind myself!)

1) Don't just dream; do.
For some reason, TV makes us think it's great to watch people doing stuff. But if we don't agree with what they're doing, then why are we watching? And if we do, then why aren't we doing it ourselves? Why am I watching Barefoot Contessa or Anna Olsen make cookies (and eat them!), instead of making and eating cookies myself?

2) O gaze, where art thou?

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity: this will be most con­ducive to their purity – [and,] verily, God is aware of all that they do.[Al-Nour, 30]

The most obvious point of all, but perhaps as a reminder: is it physically possible to be watching TV and lowering your gaze at the same time? Needless to say, there are cases where people watch mediocre shows simply in order to ogle at the beautiful male/female star...

3)The Hour-burner
Simply put, TV wastes time. A whole lot of it. Hours which, it's alarming to admit, we'll be weeping over when the real Hour comes :(

4)Fitnah: 10,000, Benefit: 0
Really, I keep telling myself, "What have I gained from TV?" Not much. What have I lost? A whole lot. It's frightening, but how often can we say, "I have gained good deeds from watching TV," - and how often can we say the opposite? TV teaches you little if anything at all; if I wanted to make cookies I can look up the recipe.

5)Waxing the dark; waning the light
I used to watch a whole lot of crime-related shows. One day, I was shocked to realise that the reason my interest was continually engaged was that I always expected the next crime to be more heinous and disturbing than before. It doesn't matter that the scenes are not graphic and nonviolent - the very fact that only gruesome acts can engage us or provoke our deepest sympathy should send up a red flag.

6)The eyes are the doorways to the soul
You think watching a harmless show has no effect on you? Pay close attention to your manner of speech after that, and your attitude towards and perception of such broad terms as romance, friendship, elders, amusement, parents, achievement, self-image. Most of the stuff we watch we would blatantly disagree with (even be shocked at) if someone we knew said/did/dressed/acted the same. Yet we watch and revel in watching it; meanwhile we are subtly being influenced through all we watch.

7)TV Rules!...you
TV dictates what and when you are going to watch. Seriously. Broadcasters out there try to snag your attention with shows, selling you to advertisers. Specific programming is set, and at specific times. Who's at the mercy of whom?

8)Proper Propaganda
Watch the news, by all means. It shouldn't take you long to discover what went on during the day. The rest, you'll come to realise, is repetition or propaganda.

9)So as I was saying...what was I saying?
Attention. Defecit. Enough said. Your brain is more numb watching TV than asleep. The number of scene changes (the number of times the image changes on the screen) is unlike any stimulus in nature; after it, you'll find it hard to be engaged by anything else.

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Ah, Ye Olde Woman, heed your own warnings: happy will be the day when you scorn TV completely! Reminders to myself and those who wish to be reminded.