Ruling on watching TV and online videos

Television is a means of sin and a combination of many prohibited elements; therefore, watching it is impermissible. The images displayed on television are pictures, making it a means of image-viewing. A person watching television cannot generally avoid listening to music, and in most cases will also end up looking at non-mahram individuals. For all of these reasons, watching television is prohibited.

Therefore, if the question is: "If there is no nudity or tabarruj (immodest display of adornment) in a TV program or online video, is it still necessary to lower one's gaze?" the answer is that the primary ruling in such a case is not merely to lower one's gaze, but rather to refrain from watching it altogether, because its prohibition is not based solely on nudity or tabarruj, but also on the other reasons mentioned above.

However, if a video is being watched due to a genuine and permissible need, and it contains no unlawful scenes, then lowering the gaze is not obligatory from that particular aspect. Nevertheless, if any prohibited scene appears while watching, one must immediately avert one's gaze.