The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Fasting is a shield. So if one of you is fasting, let him refrain from all acts of lewdness and obscenities and wrangling. If someone picks a fight with him or scolds him let him (not retaliate); rather say, “I am fasting; I am fasting.” He also said, “Whoever does not shun speaking or acting immorally/sinfully, Allah has no need of him going without food and drink.” “There are many who fast, but gain nothing out of it except hunger and thirst.”

Based on such evidences in the sources, Imam Ghazali reminds us that fasting proper involves imposing restraint on our eyes, ears, and other faculties, as well as our thoughts. Watching such TV programs or movies with obscene content will no doubt undermine and invalidate one’s fast.

If you have been addicted to watching such movies or programs Ramadhan is the perfect time to break such a pernicious habit. Turn to Allah in sincere repentance and cry to Him to cure you of this addiction. Use the precious days and nights of this blessed month to summon the spiritual energy to wean off this addiction. You can never do so as long as you are glamorizing it and visualizing it as a pleasurable experience. So you need to convince yourself of the pain and suffering associated with such a sin and then use it effectively to fight the urge to do so. Proper repentance from sins entails feeling deep remorse, refraining from it altogether, and resolving never to commit it again. Since no one can break free of a bad habit unless he/she establishes another habit, it is important for you to make yourself busy with a beneficial project or work. Thus every time you are tempted to commit it, force yourself to be busy. And last but not least, turn to Allah for help, begging and entreating Him, to help you break this bad habit. You may offer the following supplication on a regular basis:

Allaahumma habbib ilaynaa al-eemaana wa zayyinhu fee quloobinaa wa karrih ilaynaa al-kufra wa al-fusooqa wa al-isyaan

(O Allah! Make faith dear to our hearts and embellish our hearts with it; and make us loathe disbelief, sins and transgressions). May Allah save us from the evil inclinations inherent in our own nature; and may He help us come out of Ramadhaan fully cleansed spiritually and with renewed faith-aameen.